


Never Alone - The 100 Sonic & Blaze Story

by WolfChalk



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Currently transfering from Fanfiction account, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Mostly a hybrid of romance and friendship, Sonic Rush, Sonic/Blaze, Takes place exclusively in the games, This ship is severely underrated, has some OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 40,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19720585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfChalk/pseuds/WolfChalk
Summary: [NEVER ALONE] - [When I was down... You'd pick me up... When I was low... You'd raise me up, Raisin', raisin' Me up! You took me higher!] [Despite the time and dimensional rift that would always bar them apart, fate always found ways to throw them back together...] 100 Theme Challenge, contains both platonic and romantic Sonic/Blaze, rated T to be safe.





	1. Master List

**Author's Note:**

> This is a project I started some years ago on Fanfiction. I decided to transfer the story here to A03 because why not. I haven't updated in awhile but I do plan on returning to this project soon. Just for reference guys... These chapters do NOT link together unless I specify it. These are all one shots!

**The Master List**

1\. Introduction  
2\. Love  
3\. Light  
4\. Dark  
5\. Seeking Solace  
6\. Break Away  
7\. Heaven  
8\. Innocence  
9\. Drive  
10\. Breathe Again  
11\. Memory  
12\. Insanity  
13\. Misfortune  
14\. Smile  
15\. Silence  
16\. Questioning  
17\. Blood  
18\. Rainbow  
19\. Gray  
20\. Fortitude  
21\. Vacation  
22\. Mother Nature  
23\. Cat  
24\. No Time  
25\. Trouble Lurking  
26\. Tears  
27\. Foreign  
28\. Sorrow  
29\. Happiness  
30\. Under the Rain  
31\. Flowers  
32\. Night  
33\. Expectations  
34\. Stars  
35\. Hold My Hand  
36\. Precious Treasure  
37\. Eyes  
38\. Abandoned  
39\. Dreams  
40\. Rated  
41\. Teamwork  
42\. Standing Still  
43\. Dying  
44\. Two Roads  
45\. Illusion  
46\. Family  
47\. Creation  
48\. Childhood  
49\. Stripes  
50\. Breaking the Rules  
51\. Sport  
52\. Deep in Thought  
53\. Keeping a Secret  
54\. Tower  
55\. Waiting  
56\. Danger Ahead  
57\. Sacrifice  
58\. Kick in the Head  
59\. No Way Out  
60\. Rejection  
61\. Fairy Tale  
62\. Magic  
63\. Do Not Disturb  
64\. Multitasking  
65\. Horror  
66\. Traps  
67\. Playing the Melody  
68\. Hero  
69\. Annoyance  
70\. 67%  
71\. Obsession  
72\. Mischief Managed  
73\. I Can't  
74\. Are You Challenging Me?  
75\. Mirror  
76\. Broken Pieces  
77\. Test  
78\. Drink  
79\. Starvation  
80\. Words  
81\. Pen and Paper  
82\. Can You Hear Me?  
83\. Heal  
84\. Out Cold  
85\. Spiral  
86\. Seeing Red  
87\. Food  
88\. Pain  
89\. Through the Fire  
90\. Triangle  
91\. Drowning  
92\. All That I Have  
93\. Give Up  
94\. Last Hope  
95\. Advertisement  
96\. In the Storm  
97\. Safety First  
98\. Puzzle  
99\. Solitude  
100\. Relaxation


	2. Introduction

The feline could feel her knees quivering under the weight of her body, shoulders shaking and clothing tattered from the showdown. The beauty of space above them was practically nonexistent as she tried to focus on simply breathing and standing. Blaze was tired and she averted her eyes to her feet. They trembled and she was grimly fascinated by the fatigue. It wasn't something she knew how to feel, always shouldering task after task without a single feeling of rest. She knew of stress but never did she ever feel so _tired_ before.

_Tap, tap, tap...  
_

They were footsteps and Blaze soon saw another pair of shoes approach her line of sight once they crossed the platform. They were red and big, streaked with white and laced up tightly. Shuddering a breath, she finally collapsed to her knees, knuckles braced against the floor.

"Whoa! Hey, you alright there? Look, I didn't mean to be so rough but..." His hands touched her shoulders and she felt as if he were burning her. He pulled her up gently, watching her face to gauge for a reaction. Blaze knew even if she wanted to blast more fire at him, she was far too drained to bother with it. "You kinda left me no choice, ya know?"

She mutely looked up at him, brows furrowed and lips sealed tightly in a line. The hedgehog regarding the princess with a little caution but he was smiling down at her. It was as if her outburst never happened and easily acted as if she wasn't a total stranger to him. He regarded her with open warmth and it flustered her.

"I know," she finally said.

"I hope this means we can start fresh now." His grin widened and Blaze raised her chin in a curious fashion, ears perking slightly from their droopiness.

Blaze looked at him.

"You don't need to do this on your own," he continued. "I won't let you."

His hand reached out to her and Blaze backed away slightly, peering at it as if it were a foreign object. "Name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

The cat was silent for many moments before she could feel a wall breaking down inside her. "I... I am sorry..."

Sonic cocked his head, taken aback before his nose crinkled as another smile took his face. It was a smaller one, more soft and gentler. "Not the response I was expecting but I'll take it, miss _'Sorry'_ ," he answered.

Her eyes widened at his little joke there and sheepishly, she took his hand in hers. "No... no, its Blaze," she informed him modestly.

"I had a hunch," he laughed. "Its nice to finally meet you, Blaze."

"The pleasure is all mine..." She managed a tiny grin, barely noticeable but she felt it was progress.


	3. Love

She stood upon the extravagant balcony, many colorful exotic plants lined the marble columns all around. Candles in her bed room burned softly behind her, offering light to her quarters. She needed a break from all the zealousness that strangled her, everyone was in a tizzy. Her Majesty's palace was bustling with more excitement than usual, the servants and nobles all running about like gossiping hens with their head cut off. Blaze knew as to why they were so ecstatic and the queen wished she could share in their merry ways.

Her title kept her from feeling completely satisfied, no matter how much her people bowed and praised her for the honor she bestowed upon them and the kingdom. The lean feline gripped the railing with her knuckles until her hands felt raw. When she realized her palms were burning faintly with a sort of ache was when she finally let go, her eyes straying away from her fourth finger.

Blaze didn't need to be reminded of what would occur in several nights, at least for now. In her study she knew all would be okay, as it was the only peaceful place she knew. None of her castle workers would bother her here as they knew this was a sacred area for their ruler.

A ruler that they knew could have a nasty temper if bothered at the worst of times.

_Knock, knock._

"Your Highness? There is a visitor for you, she… she insists its of utmost importance…" A servant said, sounding hesitant to bother Blaze.

Perhaps, she was wrong on that one. Turning with her long trench coat swaying at her heels, she stared at the door. Her eyes were narrowed in something of a glare, the cat woman torn on pretending to not be here or consider that perhaps it was a emergency that needed her attention. At the notion of possible danger, her stomach did a drop and without thinking, Blaze strode her way across her chambers toward it.

Grabbing the knob, she was suddenly aware of a certain accent that this knocker had. She relaxed her arm, ear pressing against the wood to listen in on who was just outside the hall.

"… I am sorry my lady but the queen seems to be absent."

"Eh?! No way, queeny Blaze is probably in there bein' a brood!"

"M-my lady!"

"Don't 'my lady' me _, chook_!" Blaze felt a hard wrapping on the door, the vibration causing her to stumble back with a wince as she held her ears. The servant sounded horrified as she dealt with the demanding guest.

"Lady Marine! _Please!_ Perhaps if… if you come back later?!"

"She'll be a married _lass_ by then though! Blaze! Open the door immediately Sheila! I know you're in there!" The doorknob jiggled roughly and Blaze decided it was time she let the outside world in.

Twisting the knob, she opened it and stepped back to take a look at the two visitors. One was a servant, who Blaze knew faintly as Mrs. Plucky, a nice pigeon who had only just recently joined the castle's workforce. She was awfully shy and often intimidated by Blaze. Blaze looked at her coolly before turning to the teenaged raccoon who stood impatiently beside Mrs. Plucky.

"I am so sorry, ma'am… I mean Her Majesty the queen, I tried to tell her that you didn't wish to be bothered…!" Mrs. Plucky looked as if she were begging for mercy.

"No, no, its quite alright Mrs. Plucky," Blaze assured, dipping her head in a polite nod. "Lady Marine is a friend, I always have time to speak to a friend. Even you." She smiled lightly at the servant, who seemed taken aback by the friendliness Blaze showed. However, Mrs. Plucky simply decided to go with a meek bow, feathery hands folded at her breast.

"I… I will leave you two alone then, princess Blaze." She didn't make eye contact as she began shuffling away. "Please don't forget that supper will be soon, the royal council wishes to hear more of your wedding plans to the prince."

"Of course," Blaze answered back, rather monotone as she watched her go. Marine watched the exchange with anxious eyes, arms crossed as she tried to contain herself. Blaze could tell her younger friend had much she wanted to talk about, especially since she practically broke her door down to get to her.

Marine shoved Blaze into the room once Mrs. Plucky was gone, feeling a little stunned when Marine slammed the door shut behind them.

"Marine!" Blaze hissed. "That wasn't necessary!"

Marine only waved Blaze's stern words off. " _Knock, knock,"_ she only said, stringing along her usual odd lingo. "Besides, need 'em to think we are speakin' 'bout somethin' top secret. We are anyways queeny."

"We are?" She didn't sound very impressed and Blaze turned to head toward the desk stationed by the corner of her very large room. Maps of many kinds hung upon the wall, photos of friends and family scattered about upon the desk. Blaze lit more candles as she walked about, snapping her fingers as she banished the lowlight out. She eventually settled at her seat, seating primly and leaning her chin upon her folded hands. "Now, what is this top secret thing you want to speak of?"

"Your engagement to that _no-hoper_ of a prince!"

Blaze could feel her eyebrow twitch in irritation at her word choice. "There is no need to insult him like that, Marine."

Marine glowered at her, padding up to where her friend sat. She put her hands on the glass surface of the low table, leaning forward to look at Blaze good. "'Course there is _gobber_! He ain't right for ya!"

"Marine…" Her voice had an edge to it.

The younger of the two didn't seem to catch the warning behind it, Marine shaking her head vigorously. "Ya ain't seenin' the big picture!"

Blaze stood up sharply, the fur along her neck bristling as she bared her teeth. "I am seeing the big picture!"

"Then what is it?" Marine demanded.

She turned her back to Marine, now facing the gray-scaled photos all along the wall. They seemed to tell a story, one of Blaze's life. She saw herself as a plump kitten sitting upon the lap of a older-looking version of herself, except the woman's eyes were far rounder and softer than her own. She saw herself an awkward teenager, budding into the early stages of adulthood and her face no longer bright or innocent. At twelve she appeared detached and void, standing beside who she knew as her grandmother. She had paint upon her face, drawn into the royal crest her family wore. Blaze tightened her fingers together from where they hung behind her back.

"I am serving our country, Marine. That is the big picture."

"Ya really care more for your country than your heart?"

The words floated stiffly in the air and Blaze found her eyes falling to one of the newer pictures, one taken almost three years ago. This one wasn't black and white but filled with color. The person was a hedgehog, lean and tall as he smiled at the camera. Green eyes seemed to glow, reflecting the flash that had gone off. Under his arm stood an awkward Blaze, three years younger than today. Still, she found she was smiling there. She remembered taking that one. They had been at Windmill Island, taking a day off to celebrate their accomplishment of figuring out how to harness some of the chaos energy. It was after they sent the two Eggmen running back to lick their wounds. She had been reluctant to take that break but of course, Sonic being Sonic had made her. She remembered even genius Tails had insisted they take some time to relax. Marine took that picture of them.

"Marine, I am a princess. You forget that sometimes." She didn't turn back to the raccoon but she could feel her blue eyes staring holes into her slender back. "My blood carries the burden of my ancestors, they all gave something up for the sake of this country. Generations upon generations, blood shedding more blood… I am tied to this position by the circumstances of my birth. Not all of us are born free, especially not like him."

Marine fell silent and part of Blaze ached inside.

Then, there was a sharp exhale of breath from behind her. "But your blood don't mean nothin' if your heart ain't into beatin' its all into it."

She turned to look at Marine finally, seeing as her friend looked at Blaze sadly. Blaze stared back. "Blazey, ya know this ain't the right thing for ya."

"But love isn't the right thing for this country."

"Well, why can't it?"

"Love means you are free, and free is not something I can ever be."


	4. Light

* * *

Loud, crashing ocean waves attacked the Ocean Tornado's starboard, flooding over the railing and dragging anything that was unfortunate to be out there down off the deck. A certain hedgehog was clinging to one of the many cannons, using it as a hand hold with a vigorous grip. His stomach was rolling painfully and he wanted to retch. Luckily, Sonic's pride was still stronger than his otherwise complaining belly. The large green tarp that covered the top of the ship as a roof did a poor job of keeping the sudden storm out. Black water lapped at his shoes and sometimes rose to swallow his waist. They hadn't known such a hurricane was sweeping the sea, unwittingly they were on its warpath.

Beside him stood a graceful companion, one he knew very well and partially envied how cool she was taking the entire situation. She wasn't clinging to the cannons like a ninny but standing her ground as the ocean rose up to eat the large ship. Blaze had the sharpest eyes of anyone and with the GPS systems down, she was put to the job of trying to find land. Sonic knew she had guts and that she too lacked how to swim. He was gutsy too, at least until you surrounded him with water and that was where he drew an imaginary line. Fetal position and a thumb to his mouth sounded like a better plan in his opinion.

Sonic felt incredibly ill and hugged the cannon even tighter, face green. "Please, tell me we're close to land already!"

"I am afraid not," Blaze told him, deadpanned. Sonic watched as she turn away from him, the wind blowing her soft-looking fur in all directions. She was drenched to the bone, royal purple clothes practically molded into her body like a second skin. "I suggest you hold on tight, something inevitable is coming toward us."

Sonic's eyes widened at that and he looked frantically for the incoming tide Blaze predicted. He couldn't tell if this was a part of his female friend's sick sense of humor. The queen padded across the ship toward where their friend Marine stood, hands braced against the steering wheel and many other dingle hoppers. Tails was with her, trying to get the electrical devices that were going haywire back on. The fox kit had a life jacket on, goggles over his baby blue eyes. Ropes were tied around he and Marine's bellies, obviously to help keep them from being thrown over.

"A large wave is incoming any minute now," Blaze told the two kits. Marine squinted her eyes at Blaze, trying to focus despite how raw her face looked from the violent downpour. Sonic felt sympathy for her, his own skin felt like barb wire as is. "We need to brace ourselves for the worst of it."

Sonic could feel his heartbeat drum in his ears when the water below them suddenly seemed to disappear beneath them in a low dip. Even with Blaze's warning, he hadn't been prepared to face the rapid drop the ship experienced. It fell mightily, hitting back into the water with a massive splash. Sonic nearly was flung over, legs ghosting the edge of the ship as he kicked his way back up with a surprisingly effeminate scream.

Did Sonic ever mention how next to Dr. Robotnik, water was his worst nemesis? "That's it! I am not ready to face a watery grave!"

Blaze scoffed at him, "Keep it together, Sonic."

Like a whiny child, he pouted at her, arms thrown loosely back around his previous spot. "All this fuss for a stupid rock…" Sonic mumbled to himself. Tails glanced up from his work once the cub had caught his bearings.

"I managed to get a faint signal on the GPS," Tails said, raising the device with a little smile.

"Good goin' mate!" Marine cheered, rubbing her eyes as she struggled to steer the ship.

Sonic looked at Tails with a beaming smile despite how sopping wet he was. "Great little bro! How close to land are we?" He tried not to sound too eager but he couldn't help it.

Blaze gave him a look that seemed to say 'calm down.' Tails peered at the device carefully, tapping his finger on the screen. "Judging by its calculations we are… Gah!" The two-tailed kit gave a yelp, the ocean sending the ship into another uneasy ride. The remote-sized GPS flew out of Tails' grip, thudding along the floorboards. Tails tried to get up quickly to reach it but he was tangled by ropes and slipping too much. Sonic stared in muted horror as the sea quickly munched up their only real ticket out of this mess.

Even Blaze's jaw was dropped. It had all happened so quickly, none of them were expecting such a thing to happen. Sonic's yell resonated all over the ship. "Okay, its final, we're dead."

Marine looked at her blue friend. "You're takin' it real swell cobber," she said with clear sarcasm.

Sonic didn't appreciate her sass and made sure she knew it with a well made glower. "Hey…!"

Blaze moved to stand between them, hands lifted in a 'stop' sign. "Behave please, I don't want to send anyone to the time out corner any time soon," she told them. Sonic just raised his brows at that, not sure how to take it. Obviously, it had the desired effect that Blaze wanted, since he was not longer looking like a sour puss. Marine returned to steering the ship whilst Tails looked on with amused eyes.

"You're a big sister too, aren't you Blaze?" Tails inquired curiously.

The cat only smirked faintly at him. "Is it really that easy to tell?" She playfully quipped. Resting her arms at her sides, she quickly turned back to her serious self. "As much as Sonic's outburst was very much out of line, he does have a point…"

"Oh, thank you so…"

Blaze cut him off, "As I was saying…" He could feel her molten stare but casually he shrugged it off. "We are in a predicament."

"Don't worry guys, I got a plan B.," Tails assured. "We just need to find the eye of the storm. If we can get there and follow it, we'll be okay."

"Is it as simple as that?" Blaze asked, eyebrows raised.

The fox kit looked a bit unsure, shyly glancing away before lifting his eyes back to the feline. Sonic watched on curiously. "Well, not exactly, but I do have a vague idea on how we can do it. I'd just need your help Blaze."

"Of course, anything," she said, not missing a beat.

Sonic perked, letting go of the cannons to shuffle his way toward his friends. He swayed as the boat rocked up and down, water sliding under his sneakers and making him drop to his knees every so often. Embarrassed but determined, he managed to crawl his way over to Blaze's side who was glancing down at him blankly.

"Hand please?"

"Well…"

"Aw, c'mon Blaze!"

She eventually did grasp his hand in hers, pulling him up. He grabbed his friend around the waist to steady himself and she said nothing more.

"So Tails, does this plan of yours involve epic stunts of dangerous magnitude?" The hedgehog asked, his fear of the water and storm around him seemingly forgotten at the aspect of a thrill ride.

Tails crossed his arms smugly. "Since when don't they Sonic?"

"Then I am so in!"

"First of all, you'll need these." Tails grabbed some of the rope they had leftover in a nearby trunk, one Marine had deemed their junk box. It usually held random things they found laying around such as old reusable metals, tools and anything else that could be used to construct things. So Sonic sometimes found it odd how it was just the junk box. "Tie it tight around yourselves super tight, okay?"

"Ya blokes, don't need ya bein' lost kites now do we?" Marine interjected, throwing her older comrades a cheeky smile.

Sonic took the rope, threading it around his waist. When he offered it to Blaze after, she eyed it wearily, suddenly seeming to piece the plan together.

"Wait, we're going to go into the sky?" Sonic wondered if that was panic he heard in her clipped tone.

Marine rolled her eyes dramatically. "'No! Ya just gonna be thrown over board like anchors!" Blaze's scowl seemed say she didn't like the raccoon kit's response. "'Course ya goin' in the sky! How else ya gonna spy the eye without a GPS?" It seemed as if Sonic and Blaze switched places, now she being the difficult one about the situation.

However, she took a shaky deep breath and took the rope from Sonic. She too tied it around herself, making sure it was as tight as can be.

"Alright, fine," Blaze complied. "I assume you'll be providing us something to speak down to you?"

"Tails isn't just going to throw us up there without some ground control," Sonic told her, waving his hand. When Tails remained silent, Sonic gave him a look. "Wait… you are?"

"The storm is blocking too many signals, all the electronics are going haywire. It would be more risky to give you anything electrical anyway. Lightning could try striking you down on a more likely level," Tails explained, looking very apologetic.

The blue blur surprisingly grinned in a mad sort of way. "Man Tails, you're just making this more and more fun for us."

"How can you think of fun at a time like this?" Blaze hissed, hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes at him. Sonic raised his hands in mock defense.

"Relax kitty," he chuckled. "There's no need to get a hairball."

"Excuse me?!"

"Oi! Flirt latter ya lot! The waves are gettin' wilder," Marine shouted at them, struggling to keep the steering wheel steady. She grabbed for a lever, pulling it down. Her arms were shaking from the overexertion.

Tails tied the ropes attached to Sonic and Blaze to the ship, triple knotting it and testing it toughly. He turned back to his two friends. "I need to stay here with Marine, so Blaze, I am depending on you to get you guys into the air. The wind will pull you up once you break passed the clouds. Its like a vacuum up there."

Blaze nodded. "Consider it… um, done," she replied, glancing up unsurely. "Tails, Marine, stay back. I don't want to burn any of you."

Marine looked at Sonic and Blaze, saluting them quickly. "Good luck mates! I know ya'll get us outta 'ere!"

Sonic rubbed his nose cockily. "You bet! Ready Blaze?"

"Of course I am!" She sounded a little too enthusiastic.

Blaze looped an arm around his mid section, making sure to keep Sonic close to herself. Once Marine and Tails were away from them, Blaze began breathing in deeply through her nose. Out through the mouth, Sonic could see smoke puffing through. It reminded him of a dragon, especially when soon a whole funnel of hot air and black smoke was coming out her nose, mouth and even her ears. Suddenly, she was burning up and Sonic had to shield his eyes when everything just exploded. Ash burnt his nostrils and when he finally could see again, they were rocketing up through the stormy clouds. She was like a missile, going father and farther up as fire blasted out from her feet and one clenched hand. The boat below was nothing more than a speck on the sea.

"This is totally awesome!" Sonic cheered, yelling over the strong wind and rain.

His fiery partner didn't say anything, just focused on keeping their momentum and not looking down. Once they burst through the clouds, they were practically out of the storm. Blaze abruptly stopped her flames, letting go of Sonic as she barked an order.

"Keep your arms out!"

Sonic didn't do what she demanded at first, simply enjoyed the plummet back down as cold air rushed by him. His eyes were closed and loudly he was laughing. He spun like an asteroid, feeling adrenaline pulsating through his body. There was so much pressure on his body and he felt delightfully lightheaded. However, he felt something hot falling behind him.  
"Sonic!"

When he did look up, there was a serious-faced Blaze, who grabbed him around the arm to rocket them back up again. Fire blasted from her feet and she bared her teeth at him. He looked innocently up, letting Blaze do what she wanted as she tugged him high and higher, back to where they previous were. This time when she let him go, he did what he was supposed to. Spreading his arms up, his descent was slowed but the air pushed against his belly and chest as if he were a kite. Blaze did the same, hair and tail flying behind her.

"You are insufferable!"

"I know," Sonic agreed, suppressing a laugh. "Man, that was so cool! We need to do this like, once every other day!"

Blaze looked ready to burst a blood vessel. However she spoke very calmly, menacingly too. "I will let you hit the ground in a splat then."

"Aw, Blaze, I love you too. I can be Pancake the Hedgehog!"

Blaze hid her face away from him, making a odd noise with her throat as she tried to look for this special eye Tails spoke of. Sonic only looked at her smugly, watching as the tips of her ears went red. Whether they were from being flustered or the cold, he didn't exactly know. Either way it felt like a victory to him.

They floated about for a long time, strong wind currents throwing them all around roughly like rag dolls. Sonic enjoyed every moment of it while Blaze looked very much like a distressed wet cat. She wasn't very built to take so much abuse like he was, she being much for limber and narrow.

**_BOOM!_ **

A zigzag of lightning caused Blaze to suddenly lose her balance in the air. It blinded her, luckily missing her by a long shot but still close enough to feel its raw power. Blaze flew back, arms covering her eyes as she curled up mid-air. Sonic reacted as quickly as he could, he too having been taken aback by how abrupt it had struck. Diving down after her, he found it hard to reach her. The wind was pushing him away, even with how far he reached his fingers out to try and grasp her clothing.

"Blaze! Get your arms out!"

"I can't see!" Was her response.

"You don't need eyes to get your arms out! C'mon! You're dropping rapidly!"

She was falling head first, panicking as she tried to figure out which way was up and which way was down. Determined, he let his arms fall to his side, chin tucking with his legs lined up behind him. Like an arrow, he shot in one direction to the best of his ability. His quills were flying in all directions, thunder purring in his ear like a seductive drum solo. The wind knocked him right into her roughly. He felt his breath get knocked right out of him but he managed to curl his arms around her as they plummeted together.

He shook her by the shoulders. "Snap out of it! Call on your fire powers! Hurry Blaze!"

She looked blankly at him, still seeming dazed. "B-but…!"

"Blaze! I'll be your eyes, trust me!"

That seemed to do the trick, since after a few long heart pounding moments, her feet and hands were erupting in fire. It was pathetic at first, sputtering weakly with tiny golden sparks. Sonic worked on guiding her, turning her in the direction that would lead them up and away from the danger of the endless drop below. His arms were woven tightly around her, making sure she knew she wasn't doing this alone. It was bright and powerful, spewing the hot flames out dangerously and recklessly.

"That's it Blaze!"

In the darkness, even if she were still blindsided by the sharp lightning from earlier, she glowed like the sun. It was a kind of light Sonic would never forget.


	5. Dark

The two loners watching as he zipped around the room. Everyone from his inner circle were here, from Tails, Cream, Amy and Knuckles, to the more shadier bunch like that batty treasure hunter Rouge, a robot called OMEGA and a detective agency called the Chaotix. Sonic made sure everyone felt involved, stopping to crack a quick conversation before hurrying to his other friends. Sonic had hosted this party, declaring it no special reason except for old friends to come around and strengthen old bonds.

"He doesn't give up that faker," Shadow remarked at her side. He was nursing on a iced tea, somewhat bitter at the beverage choices provided for the party. Shadow had been hoping for something stronger but…

"You're truly surprised?" Blaze and he were hanging around at the corner of the room, the farthest corner known to man in fact. They were content though, as they weren't the most sociable bunch. Blaze had met the black hedgehog a few times in the past when she and Sonic set up the rare 'play date.' Getting Blaze here alongside Marine had been difficult but awhile ago Tails had constructed a device to allow easy access to each other's worlds. Only downside was it had to be used sparingly, as the machine used much power.

"Not at all," he replied, voice muffled by the paper cup. "He always was a social butterfly…"

Blaze puffed her cheeks out when she felt a sudden laugh threaten to burst out. Of course, being cool-headed and collected, she managed to avoid making a complete fool of herself. Shadow raised a brow at her when she made a sound akin to a _fart._

"I don't see what's so funny."

"I suggest you repeat your earlier statement, Shadow."

"What?" Shadow furrowed his brows, at a loss. "Sonic's a social butterfly?"

There was a brief pause of awkward silence.

Blaze was smirking and Shadow glowered toward her, crushing his now empty cup between his fingers as he made a fist. "You aren't socially sexist at all." He gave a scoff. "He's rubbed off on you no doubt."

"You speak as if that's a bad thing," she mused, arms crossing along her chest.

"It can be, makes you grow soft and immature."

Blaze couldn't tell if he was serious or not, with Shadow it was always a struggle. Though, she wondered if growing soft really was something to be deemed negative. For all her life, the queen had been rubbed raw by reality. At the dawn of her life, she was forced upon the throne all too young, being told she was to carry burden upon burden without rest. Then there were her flames… Since meeting Sonic, Cream and all their friends, she couldn't remember feeling so light and free, like wind. So Shadow's jab about her growing soft left her a bit torn. Could it really be a bad thing?

Her silence seemed to be boring Shadow, since he was staring at the lilac feline with half-lidded dull eyes. "If you're returning to your dimension, you should be doing it elsewhere," Shadow said dryly. "To think your company was somewhat enjoyable."

Blaze arched a brow at him. "How charming, I was deep in thought."

"Time and place for everything," he told her simply.

"Of course," Blaze agreed, clipped. "My, someone's touchy tonight."

"Hmp," the black hedgehog grunted, teeth clacking together. "I need a drink."

"You forget there are children here."

"Well, they'll figure out things in time anyway," he shot back, shrugging carelessly.

Blaze smugly curled the corner of her lip up. "What happened to 'time and place for everything?'"

"Why you…!"

"I believe you are Hypocrite the Hedgehog."

"Hey! Why you guys over here and not with us? It's a party!" The one and only Sonic the Hedgehog came jogging across the room, a few crooked party hats attached to all six of his quills. A party horn was in his hand and it didn't take long for him to blow it loudly in their faces.

_**Hhhhoooonnnkkkkkk!** _

He was grinning widely, arms spread out dramatically.

_Only Sonic…_ Blaze thought, both exasperated and fond as she looked at his silly getup.

"We are at the party," Shadow huffed.

"Yea but the corner? Really Shads? Any more cliché and you'll be sprouting a leather jacket from your skin!" Sonic exclaimed, looking unimpressed.

Shadow grumbled, leaning his back against the wall. "No one asked you, faker…"

"Hey, _you_ did the moment you came to the party, _faker,"_ Sonic replied right back, not missing a beat. Sonic, sassy as always, crossed his arms and leaned back into the air as he copied his broody ally's stance.

"For the record, Rouge told me there would be drinks," he defended himself gruffly, throwing Sonic a menacing red glare.

Sonic, being Sonic, took it all in awesome chill stride. Blaze watched as her dimensional counterpart raised his hands merrily. "Hey! So Rouge did pass my message on!"

Her eyebrows practically hit the ceiling as she felt confusion etch her lean face. "Wait, you're serving that whilst you have Tails, Cream and Marine on your premise? Marine _especially_ , who thinks anything adult related needs to be tested and pressed!"

"I _never_ confirmed they were alcoholic, relax," Sonic chuckled, putting distance between he and Blaze.

Blaze let the fur standing along her neck lay flat, a little embarrassed for not hearing him out. Shadow hissed sourly, "You are sick and twisted."

"Says our local angst monkey," Sonic directed at Shadow good-naturedly. "Don't lie bud, strawberry iced tea is the best."

Shadow wasn't convinced. "Not when…!" He was cut off suddenly.

"I agree Mr. Sonic!" Piped a younger voice happily. All three of the older trio glanced down quickly, every single one of them looking equally surprised at the appearance. Blaze blinked her orange eyes down at the little cute bunny, who was parading around a colorful dress laced in frilly ribbons. Like Sonic, she too wore a cone-shaped party hat on her head. A cup of what Blaze assumed was strawberry iced tea was in her hand.

"Cream," Blaze began slowly. "How long were you standing there?" She worried she heard their more 'adult' talk of Shadow's moaning over the lack of spiked juices. Blaze never liked the idea of Cream hearing and seeing more than she should. She was very naïve and Blaze wanted she stay like that.

"Oh, not long," Cream replied innocently. She tipped her head suddenly. "Why is Mr. Shadow an 'angst monkey?'"

Sonic roped a long arm over the doe's shoulders, pulling at one of her floppy ears playfully. "That, little Flopsy, is a story for another time… preferably seven years time."

Blaze nodded her head in agreement. "I concur Sonic."

His green eyes fell onto Blaze as he clicked his tongue playfully. "You and your fancy lingo. Doesn't your mouth ever get tired from saying so many big words at once?"

"One of us needs to speak fluently. I, for one, refuse to let my royal manners courses go to waste after a decade of it. Is that a problem for you _Maurice?"_

Sonic seemed a little taken aback, seeming to forget he had told her his real name a few months back. "Ouch Blaze, low blow there putty tat," Sonic lamented, placing his hand where his heart is.

Shadow cackled, "Maurice…?"

"Stuff it," Sonic pouted moodily.

Cream looked very confused before she shied away from Sonic to look at Blaze. She grabbed her feline friend's arm with her hands, beaming sweetly. "I came over to see if you guys wanted to join Marine and me in some games! Marine just made a really fun one!"

Blaze glanced down at her in a unsure manner. "Oh, I don't know about that Cream…"

The rabbit made her eyes huge and puppy-like as she peered up hopefully at the queen. Blaze glanced at Sonic, as if asking him to rescue her from needing to break her young friend's heart. Sonic only grinned at her, his eyes glinting and face saying: _"You threw me under the bus with that name stunt, I will let the kids torture you with innocent party games._ _ **Hee hoo ha**_ _."_

"Fine, I will relent," Blaze said, sighing. Though gave the rabbit a waned smile. "What sort of game is it?"

Shadow seemed to lean over toward Sonic to mutter something in his ear. "This ought to be a riot, eh faker?"

"Anything to do involving messing with Blaze _is_ a riot," Sonic whispered back. They clearly did not remember Blaze's great hearing.

Blaze mouthed to Sonic as she was tugged away by Cream. _"I will fry you both._ _ **Painfully**_ _."_

Curiously, she could hear Sonic following after her curiously to see just _what_ Marine had made for his party. He was always blissfully ignorant. They stopped beside a colorful-looking wall, one that had a messily drawn egg-shaped person. Literally, it was drawn as an egg with poorly drawn google eyes and swirly arms. He wore a bright red suit. Marine stood beside it proudly, arms in the air as she presented her work. It was made of marker. Blaze wondered if that was permanent as she eyed it with stunned silence.

"Welcome one and all cobbers to 'pin the mustache on the Eggman!'" Marine exclaimed, pulling out a mustache made of paper that had scotch tape attached to the back of it.

Well, Blaze had to give credit where credit was do. It was authentic.

A loud laugh was heard amongst the gathering crowd and everyone turned to see Sonic rolling all over the floor busting a gut. Blaze for about the nth time that night felt her eyebrows shoot up. Weakly, Sonic raised his hand as he began to talk, catching his breath. "Marine, its gorgeous. I love it. Please, someone put me out of my misery!"

Blaze heard Amy mutter something to Rouge from behind her and Cream. "Oh sure, he calls a poorly drawn Eggman gorgeous but not me! Even with this cute dress…!"

"Honey, you clearly need to set better priorities if you think a pin the tail on the donkey is more attractive than you…"

"Oh Marine! Get the bandana! Blaze says she's going to try it first!" Cream exclaimed. Blaze could feel all eyes on her and she pinned her ears, flushing. She wanted her corner with Shadow back right about now. Obviously, no one had been expecting the outsider of a cat girl to involve herself in this childish game.

"Bandana…? Why…?" Blaze watched as Marine scampered her way over to her, holding out a long red cloth covered in checkers.

"Oi Blazey, ya neva played this before have ya?" Marine pushed the bandana into Blaze's hesitant hands, earning a glare from the cat she knew as a friend. "It makes it harder to git it on! Now git with it, bloke!" She grinned and Blaze looked unimpressed.

"This is trivial, I will not…!" Sonic suddenly yanked the fabric from her hands and quickly, covered her eyes with it. Blaze sputtered in surprised.

"Oh stop running your mouth and loosen up. You're too tense," Sonic scolded lightly, making a _tut tut_ sound. "Now, I suggest you hold onto your lunch, gotta spin you around."

Blaze couldn't glare at him over the blindfold, but she made sure to step on his foot with her heeled shoe. She was rewarded with a yelp but he didn't give up. She felt his arm reach over her shoulder as he grabbed something else. Then he pushed it into her fingers. It crinkled in her hand as she felt what it was, once she had tape stuck to her index did she realize it was Eggman's mustache. The was almost a comical _womp_ noise in the room.

Sonic spun her rapidly once he had his hands on her arms. Blaze stumbled around as if she were walking on ice, not having been fully prepared. Once he backed up and let her go, Blaze felt everything wobble around her as she tried to direction herself.

_Impossible, this is so silly. I feel my dinner coming back up, ugh…_ Blaze swayed around before heading into a random direction. She could hear Marine and recalling how the raccoon kit had been in front of her, she decided to make that her starting point to the Eggman. Arms stretched out, she heard many jabs toward her over this. She was never going to live this down, especially when she heard the flash of a camera.

Someone in the room shouted she was getting warmer and Blaze wanted to scream when someone else insisted that someone was a big fat liar. Clenching her teeth, she spun around again, circling as she tried to feel for the wall.

"No, no! Wrong way Blaze!"

"Hey catwoman! You're getting close!"

"Oi, Sheila, you're so cold right now mate! Knuckles is a dummy!"

"Pardon?! Say that to my face!"

Blaze had enough. Turning, she shoved the mustache at the front of her, not caring. She was expecting it to hit the floor but instead, she heard a surprised grunt. The room fell dead silent and Blaze froze nervously. It didn't take long for the silence to morph into fits of laughter and Blaze felt someone tug her blind fold off. Looking forward as she readjusted to the light in the room, she saw Sonic in front of her. He had the mustache on his face and grinned cheekily at the humiliated feline.

"Good shot Blaze, maybe you should try again?" He was snickering and Blaze soon found herself chuckling along at the silly sight.

Though gave him an adamant 'no' right after.


	6. Seeking Solace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't the original Seeking Solace due to the fact I need to revise it. So I decided to transfer a older one shot in its place as it fit the theme better. A new better version of Seeking Solace will be added here when I do so. Until then this is a sort of place holder? Or something??

"I should have been able to prevent this from ever happening…" Her voice was low and soft, yet he could hear the tightness that coiled in her throat. It was painful to listen to but even more heartbreaking to watch as she stood alone upon the hill just outside the forest glade.

Their campfire provided little light, adding a small douse of warm comfort to the otherwise dreary and cold scene. It was hidden by a cluster of trees of many kinds, some pine, some oak and many tall and ancient-looking. It was just a orange dot in the backdrop behind them, as if a symbol of what hope there was left to scavenge. Just like her hope, it was fading all too quickly, sparks sizzling out and twigs snapping under the weight of the fire.

It was pretty poetic however he knew poetry wouldn't be getting them very far on their quest. He came up behind her quietly, sneakers softly padding along the grass as he finally made his presence known. In reality, he had been standing a few feet away for awhile now, listening to her strangled breathing and gazing upon her back as he tried to sort his words.

"You did your best, Blaze," he offered, now beside her at the shoulder. He could see her eyes were closed and ears flat. A couple of raw scabs were etched along her face and arms. He knew his own body probably looked no better. His fur still smelled of smoke and flames, bullet powder too.

The elegant feline turned to him now, rather sharply as she curled her lips into a sneer. When she opened her mouth, she seemed to think better of it and whirled away from him. Her tail swung impatiently behind her and Blaze's fingers dug into the tattered clothes covering her elbows. "Clearly my best was not enough," the cat princess sighed, sounding absolutely defeated. "He's won and we're the mice in his big game…"

Green eyes looked at her fiercely and he grabbed her shoulder, attempting comfort as he spun her around to face him. She didn't meet his eyes, clearly ashamed of their situation. "No one has won or lost, we're still alive aren't we?"

She shook her head slowly. "Sonic, you don't understand…"

He cut her off. "I do understand just fine. Answer me, we are still alive, aren't we?"

"Well yes, we are. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Dead bodies can't save anyone, not even your kingdom Blaze. We aren't dead bodies, we're still kicking and plotting to save everything!" He looked determined and she felt touched at his dedicated spirit. It still didn't help how low she felt as she looked toward the beyond, trying to see beyond the hills to the lost land they were forced to leave behind when the burden became too much. It would have been a slaughter had they stayed to try and fight the army back.

"I know we aren't dead bodies, Sonic," she said. Blaze cautiously turned her golden eyes to him, her gaze glowing in the darkness of the cool night. It was hypnotizing, her emotions usually so closed off now open to him. "But even alive as we are, I can see when a fight is for naught."

"This isn't the princess I know," Sonic rebutted.

"One of us had to grow to see the realism of the situation," Blaze answered, defeated. "I am not the ruler anymore, he dethroned me, the moment we took off he _won."_

He felt helpless as she turned her back on him, stalking away to return to their campsite with visibly fallen shoulders. The fire lit how tired her face was, revealing black bruise-like crescent shaped marks under her large eyes. She could sense as Sonic followed after her, he was quiet like the wind. He again reached for her shoulder, pulling her over for a hug. She reluctantly returned it, not looking at him as she gazed upon the fire. It was going out and Sonic could see it. Letting her go, he grabbed some more flint and sticks from a poach they had leaning against a log. Sonic threw it into the flames, watching as they burst to life once more.

"Its not over, you know," he told her, meeting her eyes as he offered a small smile. He hoped it could light what was left of her fire too. "Until he's got us kneeling at his feet with a gun to our head, I won't give up on this."

"And what if _I_ am the one who wants to give up?" It was a challenge, he knew her all too well. He matched her for it, face contorting into his usual brave bravado. She was surprised when he melted into something rather serious, his hand grasping hers like many times before. His grip was strong and Blaze could only stare at him.

"Then I won't give up on _you."_


	7. Heaven

The moonlight did wonders to her pale fur, making it glow practically silver. They sat side-by-side on a large hill, it rolled down toward the beach below where water lapped at the sand calmly. The air was crisp and the sky clear. Winter would be coming very soon, as the trees had grown bare sometime ago with their leaves shedding from the branches.

It made for a lovely night and it wasn't just because of his company. Leaning back on the soft grass, he let his arms fold behind his head. Despite the cold air nipping at his nose, Blaze helped to keep them both relatively warm. Like a heater, she radiated warmth. Sonic shamelessly was close to her, taking full advantage of her pyrokinesis.

"You know Blaze, back home we got nothing compared to this," he said, awe lingering on his tongue. "And here I thought I'd seen it all." Sonic gestured to the sky above them, which was full of many bright purple and blue colors. Stars peppered it all around, forming different constellations. You could even see a few galaxies in the distance, something Sonic couldn't recall seeing in his universe where only super powerful telescopes could manage it.

"You've been to space plenty of times from what you've told me," Blaze remarked, glancing down at him and meeting his eyes.

"Oh sure I have, more times than I can count on my hands but its totally different here," Sonic replied, smiling. "Its like looking down at clear sea water, you can see straight to the bottom!"

She made a humming sound in thought, golden stare looking down at him. "I suppose," she eventually went with, still seeming a little miffed.

Sonic chuckled a little at that before suddenly pushing his finger against Blaze's jaw, making her turn back to the night sky when something caught his interest. "Say Blaze, what's that cluster of stars about?" He could see her roll her eyes at him vaguely, accepting his silly quirks as always.

Blaze lifted her face away from his hand. "Which one?" She inquired patiently.

"That one, its shaped like a weird loopy sun," he described, sitting up so he could point out which constellation he was talking about. The stars made something of a horse shoe up there, scattering out further at many random directions at the sides like fire. It zigzagged very majestically, glowing brightly above their heads. It seemed to be the lightest part of the sky now that Sonic gave it more attention.

"Ah, I see," Blaze began. "That Sonic, is what we call the Belt of Sol."

"The sky has a belt?" He joked. It earned him a light jab in the ribs by Blaze's elbow, who was throwing him quite the stink eye. "Aw Blaze, don't look at me like that. I was only teasing."

Blaze looked confused and that was when Sonic came to a conclusion, one she confirmed right after. "As was I."

Silence fell over the pair and the hedgehog shrugged innocently before falling onto his back again. "You got a good poker face, really had me going there," he chuckled in response.

She perked her ears modestly, the lavender cat turning away from him. "Erm, thank you," Blaze mumbled, not entirely sure on how to take the compliment.

"Anyway… I am shocked you haven't sprouted any sort of legends talk. Back when we were fighting those pirates you had tons of those. Nothing on that Belt of Sol up there?" Sonic remarked cheekily, looking at her fondly.

"There is plenty of stories on the Belt of Sol," Blaze quickly piped, however, she wasn't looking at him but towards the stars in question. "The legends of it go way back to the dawn of this kingdom in fact."

"Lay it here Blaze!"

"Alright, if you insist…" She gave him a small smile as she pointed with her hand. "There are a few parts in the Belt of Sol. I won't talk of all of them, we would be here forever. However, that patch there…" She gestured toward a thick cluster of stars that ran right through the middle of the belt. Sonic saw many of the stars seemed to shimmer in a odd way, as if glistening along like a stream. Small specks of starlight lay stray from the large weaving strip. "…is called Aurum Profusum."

"Are… you… what now?" Sonic echoed, it sounded like gibberish.

"Aurum Profusum," Blaze repeated. "It means 'stream of gold.' Many tombs speak of how a fish spirit who was friends with the sun rode its way through the stars. It swam on Aurum Pofusum but was always chased by a greedy warrior who followed from below. The spirit ended up being slew by that man and ate the great fish."

Sonic cocked a brow. "Pretty sad story there, running and running just to get eaten at the end," he mused, looking at the spot.

"I wasn't finished Sonic," she huffed, Blaze reaching over to tap his nose playfully. "Much too rash, always needing to interrupt."

"Heh, I can't help it. Gotta take me or leave me." He grabbed her hand with his, teasing her fingers with his in response to her jab.

"Luckily for you, I won't leave," Blaze quipped, pulling their fingers apart. Sonic reached for them again, somewhat disappointed by the warmth as she took it with her "After the warrior finished consuming the spirit, he found himself guilty. It gave him power like he wanted but it came with the price of his humanity. It drove him slowly insane. The spirits were reasonably angered with him and so in one final act of selflessness, he let the spirit go by taking his own mortal body away. Of course, he couldn't die no more in exact terms… Well, he was transformed into energy and sent back instead, promising to protect and serve the Belt of Sol in any way he could." Blaze extended her hand out to him and quickly flicked her wrist, igniting her fingers in flames. "…the royal flame."

Sonic blinked at her, trying to understand the result of the story. "So you're saying a fish made of fire in the sky got eaten by some weird guy, gave _him_ fire powers and immortality, then he died and now _your_ family has that flame thing because of it. Did I get that right Blaze?"

"I wouldn't put so much stock in the story Sonic, its only a fable after all," Blaze humored him. She put the fire out, closing her fist tightly.

"Sounds a lot more interesting than boring biology at least," Sonic said back, rolling his shoulders. "This yields that if he, she, it has that or this…" He droned on idly, sweeping his hand back and forth.

He heard a faint chuckle from above him, Blaze looking at him from the corner of her eye. His heart tugged at the strings, happy to see she seemed relaxed. Eventually the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Sonic closed his eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying Blaze's companionship and the sounds of waves crashing at the shore far below the hill. It made him think about the story Blaze told him just now, a weird one but it was interesting. After being sucked into many misadventures involving higher powers, he often sometimes thought too deeply about old myths. He felt Blaze shift her weight and soon she was laying on her back too, their heads touching slightly by the ears.

"…they also say the Aurum Profusum links between worlds, like a bridge passing through the Belt of Sol." She spoke very softly, eyes upon the sky as Sonic turned to look at her. Her face twisted together for a split second and Sonic caught it easily.

"What's up?" He prodded gently.

"No, no, its nothing, just some silly philosophical rubbish," Blaze tried saying, turning to look at him. Her golden eyes glowed in the darkness.

"You know I won't let you drop it that easy, Blaze." He smirked at her, trying to encourage her to open up.

She was silent. Sighing, Blaze smiled weakly. It fell as quickly as it came. "Do you ever believe we will ever find each other again after this?"

"This?" Sonic curiously echoed.

"You know as well as I that we can never permanently co-exist like this," she said, getting straight to the point. Her eyes were downcast now. "Short visits like these push the limits of our dimensions as is, eventually that fragile thread will break. You remember what happened when I first came to your world, everything went down hill. After that bridge finally disappears forever… we go on with our lives with just memories and one day…"

He finally understood by what she meant by _this._ Did even the place beyond the mortal realm have barriers between dimensions? He couldn't begin to grasp that thought, heck, he could barely grasp the thought of one day never seeing Blaze again. She was a close friend of his by now, his dimensional counterpart and partner.

"You shouldn't be worrying about 'one day', Blaze," Sonic told her, reaching for her hand softly. He could feel Blaze tighten her fingers as they wrapped around his palm. "One day is a long ways off."

"One day could be tomorrow Sonic," she rebutted. "One day could even be five minutes from now. That barrier will prevent us from ever seeing each other again."

"One day will have to wait then, because _today_ I want to spend time with my very best cat friend," Sonic huffed smugly. "And let me tell you something Blaze… when that bridge does break and we're unable to see each other, I'll be sure to find you again on the other side when we both finally stop kicking. I'll ride the wind and we can face that one day together."

There was a smile on her face now, far better than that downer expression she was sporting earlier. It was contagious and he smiled broadly, his face practically breaking in half. The night was filled with laughter, deciding to make the best of what was still tangible to them both...

_**Together.** _


	8. Innocence

"Would you like one lump or two?" She could hear a young voice say from behind the solid door. It was high-pitched and squeaky, yet always spoke politely.

"I say, two lumps please, dear chap!" The feline blinked slowly at the over exaggerated English accent, it was borderline insulting. "My word it's a lovely day for tea…! Oh, hi there Blaze." Blaze had walked in on quite the comical scene of her two friends, Sonic all dolled up with a bonnet to match, ribbons in each quill. Cream was plopping some sugar cubes into his tea cup merrily, humming before she saw Blaze.

"Blaze!" She smiled brightly. "Its so good to see you! Mr. Sonic is playing tea party with me!"

Sonic didn't seem too ashamed to be caught like this, casually sipping at his glass cup. It was white and had a bright pink rose painted on its side. "You mean ma'am," Sonic corrected playfully, tugging at his bow.

She glanced between the two of them slowly. "…is this a usual thing for you two?"

Cream nodded. "Mr. Sonic comes over every Saturday for tea and cookies! We pretend to be princesses!"

"Princess?" The word sounded odd on her tongue and she turned to Sonic with questioning eyes. _"Sonic?"_

"I don't see the issue here," her blue friend commented, extending his hand out to Cream that had the tea cup. "By the way lady Cream, I could use some more milk in this thing."

"Of course," the rabbit laughed, reaching for the carton of milk. Blaze watched as Cream poured it into his cup.

"Thank you fair maiden," Sonic said, smiling politely and taking his cup back.

"The pleasure is all mine princess!" Cream beamed.

She was still baffled by the scene. Blaze decided it was best to not rake her brain further and just go back to Tails' house. She'd come here to ask Sonic for help with a little project concerning their worlds' emeralds but he was occupied currently. _In a quite peculiar manner too, if I may say…_ Blaze thought, beginning to back out without any further comment.

However just before she could get passed the doorframe, Cream's voice stopped her. "Oh Blaze! You should come join us! You're a real princess! We can play games and have a royal slumber party!" She clapped her hands merrily, glancing at her shoulder where a blue chao with a bow tie sat. "Don't you agree Cheese?"

"Chao! Chao!" It agreed wholeheartedly.

Blaze tried to keep her cool as all eyes were on her. Her ears fell out of embarrassment. "O-oh I don't know Cream…" As Cream's face begun to look crestfallen, it made Blaze's stomach twist uncomfortably, guilt chewing its way there. Even Sonic was rising his brows expectantly at her. Fortunately for the little doe, Blaze was very fond of her, even if Cream could sometimes be overly cutesy to the point of annoyance. "Ah! I mean, sure… Pardon me Sonic…" She nudged him with her foot, causing the hedgehog to shuffle to the side as she sat on the floor.

Cream was glowing as she hurried to her closet, vanishing through the door as she called to Blaze, "I'll get you some ribbons and a crown!" Blaze pawed the sheet over the makeshift table modestly.

Sonic was snickering at her side and she shot him a look. "Hey, no need to look so dirty at me," he said between laughs. "Its just cute how you got such a soft spot for Cream."

Blaze's face was flushing. "You make it sound as if I am the only one," she rebutted huffily.

"I know you too well Blaze, you act all tough and mean when really you're a cuddly kitten under all those layers," he teased, poking her arm with a smirk. "And hey, I'm not scared to say Cream has me wrapped around her finger too."

Blaze pursed her lips at him. "Hmp," she only grunted, looking away from him as she folded her legs beneath her. It was hard making yourself comfortable on a wood floor.

"I found it!" Cream called, scampering back to her two friends, arms full of stereotypical princess things. There were ribbons and skirts, fake jewels and scepters made of plastic too. Everything was either bright pink or a tame yellow. Blaze was offered a few of the items, which she took begrudgingly with a polite murmur. Sonic was laughing through his eyes, seeming to go silently _aw_ as well at her. When Blaze plopped on a pink crown with plastic blue gems and a few beads around her neck that hung, Cream was complimenting her over and over again. "You're so pretty Blaze!"

"Thank you Cream," Blaze mumbled meekly.

The big-eyed bunny suddenly pulled out a big cardboard crown from the pile of dress up things, it seemed to be cheaply made as a birthday hat at a fast food joint. She tossed it to Sonic, who caught it easily in his hands. "For me Cream? Ya shouldn't have," he chuckled.

"I got a new game Mr. Sonic!" Cream cheered, adding some finishing touches to her costume. She'd been dressed up before Blaze was here but she seemed to have found new things to make her feel even more princess-y. Blaze wondered where in the world Cream got these prospects of what being a princess was really like.

_It surely isn't anything like this, we don't sit around drinking tea for hours and giggling…_ Blaze furrowed her brow, inwardly confused on how to take this stereotype.

"You can be the king, Blaze is the queen and I am the princess," Cream decided aloud. Blaze's eyebrows shot to the ceiling and her jaw nearly dropped open. "We are going to have our royal lunch now!"

_W-what?!_ She was pink in the muzzle as she whipped to look at Sonic quickly, trying to gauge his reaction to her idea. He took it well, as he was placing the crown on his head and chortling to himself. Sonic let his green eyes rest on her and he leaned his elbow on the table. He was grinning mischievously and Blaze decided then and there she wanted to die.

"So… how's your day _sweety?_ " He said this with a straight face and Blaze could feel her eyelid twitching at the corner. "Our little Cream has invited us to dine," Sonic continued, sounding overly happy.

"Pleasant," Blaze remarked, clipped as she turned to a giggly Cream. _She is so lucky that I care about her happiness over my own dignity…_

"Well, I think the lovely queen Blaze has her tail twisted in a knot," Sonic huffed, amused as he looked at her. "Bad day with the servants?"

_Oh I'll show_ _ **you**_ _a bad day…_ "No, no, the servants are always hard working people," she grumbled. When Sonic was about to open his mouth again, Blaze grabbed for a random tea cup and held it out to him. "I want some tea, please pour me a cup," Blaze asked, exasperated.

"I would but-"

Blaze had cut him off impatiently, "But what?"

"You have my cup Blaze," Sonic told her, pointing at it to empathies. "It would be like indirect kissing."

She put it down and grabbed for one of the empty cups slowly, hearing the conjoined giggles of Sonic and Cream. "Fine, fill this one then," Blaze said instead.

"You want milk with that?" Sonic asked as he picked up the teapot and begun filling Blaze's tea cup.

"I am…" She chewed her lower lip. "Lacto intolerant, so no milk please, sugar would be nice." Her ears were burning when Sonic stopped midpour to look at her with clear surprise etched on his face. Even Cream put her hand over her mouth in sympathy.

"Does that mean you can never have ice cream Blaze?" Cream asked tentatively.

"I can Cream, just… needs to be milk free." She cast her eyes to Sonic and growled out, "And would you stop looking at me like that? Just… pass me the dumb sugar please."

"Blaze!"

The cat in question turned to Cream, wide-eyed. "What?"

"You said the d word!" Cream whispered loudly.

Sonic joined in, copying her scandalous expression. "That Blaze did!" He agreed, the rabbit and hedgehog looking at one another. "You know what that means…"

Blaze was feeling uncomfortable and lifted her hands up to express this. "What does _what_ mean? What d word?" She glanced between the two of them rapidly. "You mean dumb?"

"Get her Cream! She said it again!" Sonic called out, pointing at her. Blaze felt a weight jump at her and the cat squirmed to get away when something whisked its way down her ribs. Blaze choked down a laugh as she was on the floor, Cream was tickling her.

"Cream! Stop! _Hahaha_! Please!" She wiggled, managing to crawl onto her belly and scrapped her nails into the floor. "This is! _Hahaha_! Absurd! _Hahaha_!"

Blaze somehow managed to flip Cream off her and she began to make her escape once more as she scrambled for the door.

"Mr. Sonic! She's getting away!" Cream squealed, sitting up.

Blaze was almost out before yet another weight got her pinned to the floor. It knocked the air out of her and she glared up at Sonic, huffing for breath. "You… two… are… ridiculous!" She declared.

"Got her Cream!" Sonic remarked proudly, arms crossed as he sat on her back.

"We must send the queen to the dungeons for saying the d word!" Cream replied, grabbing her scepter nearby. "Take her away Mr. Sonic!"

Blaze was hauled to her feet by Sonic and she lamented, "How did we go from a family tea party to this?!"

"Silence, you said the d word. That means a time out in this household," Sonic told her, smirking. She was guided down the hallway, away from Cream's room by Sonic. Cream skipped after them quickly.

When they passed what was the laundry room, Vanilla poked her head out to see what the commotion was about. "Sonic, Cream, what in the world are you two up to?"

"Queen Blaze said the d word, mom! We're sending her to the dungeon!"

Vanilla looked at a pleading Blaze and turned back to Cream as the older rabbit leaned against the door frame. "I see now," she said sagely, nodding. "Well Blaze, I am sorry to say but Sonic and Cream are in their right." She smiled at the corner and Blaze wondered why this entire house was so crazy. "I won't get in your way, just try not to traumatize her dears…" Vanilla turned back into the room, leaving the dimensional Sol guardian at their mercy.

They were lead out the back door that lead to the garden. It was a pretty cliché place, as it had a porch, a swing set and a tool shed. Sonic lead her to the tool shed and opened the door, lightly pushing Blaze in. She grumbled to herself as she complied. The door was closed behind her and Blaze leaned her back against it, brooding.

"You have to stay in there for five minutes Blaze!" She heard Cream's voice say. "Mr. Sonic will keep guard!"

Blaze wanted to both laugh and nail her head into a crate she saw nearby. Sonic suddenly said something. "Hey Cream, think you can fetch our prisoner here something to drink?"

"Of course! Blaze! You want lemonade or iced tea!"

"…lemonade is good," Blaze replied.

The sounds of grass being crunched under tennis shoes and the slamming of a glass sliding door signaled Cream's temporary departure. Blaze felt the door behind her jiggle and without warning, she began falling back, only to be caught by Sonic as he held her by the shoulder. He grinned down at her and Blaze glared at him with crossed arms.

"You two are too silly," Blaze grunted, not moving.

"You're a good sport," Sonic chuckled. "Really you are, not a whole lot of people would want to humor Cream like this."

The cat cocked an eyebrow.

"I mean, she's a kid. She's got lots of energy and since we're the older generation, its like our job to make sure she stays like that," he explained, beginning to push Blaze back standing straight instead of being held up by his hands.

"Yet you must know Sonic you can't shelter her forever," Blaze told him, turning to face the hedgehog.

Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Doesn't mean we can't try for now."

"I suppose," she agreed, speaking hesitantly as she shrugged. "I am biased, since I can't recall such childhood bliss. Innocence is something old and gone to me."

"Aw, don't say that Blaze, you're still innocent," Sonic chuckled. He raised his hand and made a pinching motion with his index and thumb. "Sure, only a _little_ but still!"

"I don't believe that."

"You're here now right? You could have just turned your back on Cream the moment she asked you to play. Instead, you chose to stay." He closed his eyes merrily. "See, you're still a kid inside, just like me and especially like Cream."

"Mr. Sonic! I got the lemonade!' Cream sang loudly from inside the house.

Sonic jolted a little and looked over his shoulder. Blaze backed away into the shed, casually waving her hand. "Close it Sonic, we still have a game to finish."


	9. Drive

Sonic the Hedgehog never asked for a lot in life, just air to breathe and big open spaces to run. Everything else was just secondary to him, nice to have but not a necessity either. Though, he wasn't going to complain about the soft bed under his back and the heavy warm quilt draped over him. The pillows filled with feathers was cozy too as he curled into a ball, burrowing into the dark abyss of the covers. He could stay here all day he decided, it was a necessity to never get out of this super comfortable king sized mattress.

_Nothing is going to make me get up, nothing at all!_ He thought adamantly, sleepily laying his hand by his head.

Light met the back of his shut eyelids suddenly and Sonic groaned sleepily. The sounds of the curtains being drawn caused his ear to twitch and Sonic knew the source of this nuisance by the sound of clicking heels on a polished wood floor.

"Time to get up, dear." This was what he got for marrying a morning person, especially in a dimension that was three hours ahead of his old one. She neither sounded chipper nor irritable, Blaze was usually very mellow person to deal with so long as you didn't push her patience. Something that Sonic did often to his wife.

He made an unreadable grumble, ducking further into the safety of the covers. If he stayed here then she'd have to go away.

Sonic could feel her looming over him as she stepped to stand by his side of the bed. "Sonic," she called, a bit louder. He could hear her messing with jewelry, as it gave a distinct sort of jingle as she played with the latch. "The sky is practically blue now, I even let you sleep in a bit. Now, come now."

Pathetically he peeked at her from his hidey hole of blankets. "Honey, I'm sick today," he told her, determined. Balling a fist to his mouth, he tried to give the most authentic cough imaginable. "See?"

"Oh?" She arched a slender brow, bracelets of many kind dangling at her wrists as she held her hips. Blaze was dressed fancily, a long flowing purple dress to match. "Shall I call the royal physician then?" Peering down at him, she wrinkled her small nose.

Sonic's eyes widened at that. "Okay, no, no! I am not _that_ sick!" He didn't like the doctor who was in charge of taking care of the more higher ups in the castle. The guy was just too weird for Sonic's tastes, always staring out into space, mumbling to himself and stinking of herbs. He had a reputation of performing strange treatments to cure his patients, as if to teach a lesson as to why one should stay healthy. His track record of zero deaths made him unquestionable however.

"So you were lying?"

"I was totally lying! I don't want to go is all!" Sonic sat up in the bed, arms crossed as he leaned back into the headboard.

"Sonic…" Blaze sighed. "We've been planning this for awhile now, you know."

He furrowed his brows huffily. "We could always reschedule it," he answered defiantly.

The feline settled herself down, the bedsprings sinking under her weight. She glanced at him a bit sternly. "Its been pushed for a long time, dear. The council wanted to have this meeting almost two months ago. Do _you_ know where we were instead?"

Sonic glanced at her, pouting childishly. "…playing hooky at Southern Island?"

"Yes, yes we were."

"Hey, you gotta admit, surfing on dolphins and hanging at the beach is much more productive and _fun_ than listening to a bunch of boring old guys with beards longer than their bodies," Sonic persisted, grinning hopefully as his glowering wife.

"They are respectful people Sonic," she scolded, wagging her finger at him.

"That old beaver dude is always making fun of me though!" He chewed the inside of his cheek as Blaze shook her head at her blue husband.

"Alberto is a blunt sort, Sonic, he also wants to make sure you can be a diligent king," she tried explaining to him, causing Sonic to throw his hands up unhappily. "The whole council does."

"Pushy if you ask me," he grumbled, ears flat.

"You knew what you were getting into when you accepted my marriage proposal," Blaze said, getting up.

He smiled reluctantly like a fool, putty in her hands. Sighing, he replied, "Yes honey."

She went to the closet across the room, opening it to pull out Sonic's red suit. It was spiffy, sure but he hated putting it on. Luckily it was only for important days, like these meetings for instance. He'd worn it on his wedding too so it had some nostalgia to him. Golden cuffs and buttons were attached to it, more buttons ran up the arms.

_Way too many buttons,_ Sonic thought in mild disgust. "Now, you still need to get dressed," Blaze quipped, breaking his thoughts.

"I still have to?" Her narrowed golden eyes were enough motive to finally get him springing into action. Quick as his namesake implied, he whipped a whirlwind in the bed room to throw on the clothes. They were dry cleaned at least so the suit and pants didn't feel as itchy as usual. He pulled at his collar, trying to loosen it before messing with the dreaded buttons. His fingers were just to sausagey and big. "Blaze, the buttons won't go in," Sonic complained, shooting a glance at her.

She stood by the mirror as she fixed her hair, brushing it gently as she clasped it in a pony tail. Blaze looked at the reflection of him on the mirror rather than him. "What did Tails always say about how to deal with buttons, dear?"

He raked his brain desperately, coming up with a complete blank. "Um… ask your wife?"

Blaze rolled her eyes, turning on her heel gracefully to face him. Walking along, she grabbed his red cape from the banister and threw it around his shoulders, tying it snug at his neck. She worked on looping his buttons in the holes. "Some king you are, not knowing how to button your own suit," she said with a teasing smirk.

"Being a master of _buttonary_ was not part of job description," Sonic rebutted, looking at her. "I took those eloquent classes though for you." He matched her smirk for one of his own, causing her to tip her head coyly. "And the dance courses for that formal stuff!"

"Did you really now?" She hummed, finishing his last button. She patted him on the chest once it was done. "Well, I suppose its good to know I'll button your coats in exchange then for you."

"Gee, I feel really loved," he told her in response, turning his head to the side a little with a shake. "I go to stuffy old meetings for you and that's _all_ you'll do for me?"

She heard her sigh of amusement as she repressed a chuckle, cool and repressed as always. Arms holding his shoulders, she coaxed him to face her. Blaze leaned up slowly, lips pursed. He was prepared to meet her half-way when…

"Your Majesties!"

They tumbled apart and both glared at the door as someone knocked loudly. Blaze, fur ruffled, huffed, "Yes Gordon?" Sonic grinned a little as he detected the slight annoyance to her tone.

"The meeting is in fifteen minutes! I came down to escort you and King Sonic!" The Koala informed them from the other side of the door. He was no doubt standing prim and tall, Blaze's loyal advisor folding his hands behind his back.

"We will be right out!" The queen promised, turning back to Sonic with a sigh. "His timing is the worst…" she grumbled.

Sonic chuckled at her, holding his arm out for her to take. Blaze took her husband's arm without much of a fight. He leaned over to kiss her chastely on the brow. "We can always make it our plan for later," he suggested, winking.

"That thought should get us through that meeting easily then."


	10. Breathe Again

His breath came out shakily and Sonic was vaguely concerned by how swollen his chest was feeling. It was like breathing through a funnel. He gave a low gurgle as he struggled to repel something wet and frothy from his lungs. Ears weakly perked as he lay there pathetically, he could barely make out voices in this painful limbo.

"… _ONIC!"_

That sharp sudden voice made him moan painfully as he fought borderline unconsciousness. In the back of his mind, he felt if he drifted back to that place of nothingness he wouldn't be returning from it. He opened his mouth, wheezing. It wasn't long until he could feel his breath just basically want stop. Sonic loved living too much so he did the only thing he knew how…

Try to breathe.

Something was pressed forcefully against his mouth out of nowhere and he stiffened up when he realized how _warm_ it was on his cool lips. They were burning like fire and he instinctively tried leaning up to steal some of it. The area within his breast was blazing painfully and when the heat pulled away, he felt strong hands pumping into his ribs that were just as hot.

His airways cleared, he sprang up, clutching his stomach as he coughed, hacking up bouts of water. Sonic managed to open his eyes finally, snapping them wide as he struggled to catch his vision. Everything was blurry and he shivered uncontrollably, breathing rapidly. He collapsed onto his side with another pitiful whimper, curling up into a tight ball. The snowy floor didn't help matters at all. Black spots danced around him and he shut his eyelids tightly, right temple giving a faint pound.

Sonic passed right out once he was able to breathe freely again, the world fading all around him as he heard a nearby voice say very thickly as they fought off tears, _"H-he's_ _ **b-breathing**_ _."_

oo~~~~oo

The first thing he realized when he finally came through was how unbearably _cold_ he felt. His toes and fingers were practically falling off, numb yet throbbing in sync with his pulse. Sonic found opening his eyes incredibly difficult, they were too heavy and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get them to budge. He was terribly tired, achy all over and his body felt as if a giant weight were pressed onto him, making him a pancake on the ground.

"…onic… water… lungs…" It sounded female, the other that was replying was distinctively more masculine, making Sonic think that there was a guy in here with her. He was trying to decide what sort of tones they were speaking in.

"…oming through…?" The male was concerned, he realized in his fog.

It was a jumbled mess and they were quickly fading. Heck, he wanted to go back to sleep. Everything right now was too uncomfortable and freezing. So he began unwinding his stiff muscles, going slack as he welcomed the inky pillowy arms of a tempting deep rest. He just needed to…

Someone kneeled beside him, worriedly touching his arm. Their fingers wrapped around his elbow and Sonic feebly grasped for them with his own, palm radiating warmth he greedily wanted for himself. "Sonic, can you hear me?"

He mumbled incoherently for a moment, peeking to see a familiar purple shape. The cat had snow dusting all over her face like freckles, her clothes were heavy-looking and puffy for a cold climate. "B-Blaze?" He stuttered, barely managing to speak clearly. He lifted his head from the floor but grunted in pain, letting it fall back down. "Ow, ow! What… where…?"

"Save your strength," she instructed sternly, putting her finger on his lips. Her eyes looked watery but Sonic decided to blame it as an illusion from his fatigue. Blaze wasn't a crier. The elegant feline turned away from him, brows knotted together.

"Oh good, you aren't dead." A red echidna crouched beside Blaze, his burly shape casting a shadow over Sonic. He too was dressed for the cold with his scarf and trench coat. "As much as I hate to admit it… you had me going there for a minute, buddy." His smile was one of honest relief.

"Knuckles! You…" He groaned, voice scratchy as he shook like a leaf. "I-Its f-freezing!"

"We know," Knuckles replied. "Blaze set a fire up once we got ya to this cave. We've been takin' shifts to make sure ya don't…" He trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Guess it ain't workin'…"

"His body temperature will take awhile to reach its healthy state," Blaze explained, turning back to the two males. "We cannot rush it, he could go into shock again."

"S-shock?" Sonic's forehead creased worriedly. "W-what do y-you mean _shock_?!"

"I'll take it he doesn't remember what happened," the echidna said, glancing at Blaze who met his eyes.

"He banged his head on the ice, its no surprise he will have some memory loss," the queen replied, facing away so she was not looking at him but the camp fire he saw flickering behind she and Knuckles. "No matter… now that he is conscious we can be sure he hasn't a concussion."

He could feel the bruise on the side of his spiky head, the hedgehog laying his palm gingerly against the spot. He winced sharply, Sonic retracting his curious fingers. "I must have… have b-banged it good…" Sonic mumbled. The mention of ice made him try to dig into the depths of his memories, struggling to pull out what had occurred to send him into this pickle. "W-where are we again?"

"Doesn't really matter since heck I dunno really," Knuckles said, shrugging his large shoulders from where he crouched by Sonic. "We're in the middle of nowhere in a cave if you haven't guessed yet. You would have been pushin' up daisies if we tried takin' you to the town."

"Way to put it light and brief, Knuckles," Blaze deadpanned, narrowing her eyes at the crimson guardian. She seemed to bristle slightly and Sonic never thought he'd seen her so touchy about a subject since her reluctance to let people in.

"Hey," Knuckles defended. "I'm only servin' what he was payin' for, and that was an explanation, catwoman."

"He doesn't need the stress right now," the cat growled back, getting to her feet. Turning sharply, she stepped away to stand at the cave entrance, putting distance between their little party. "I am going to look for more kindling, take care of Sonic for now."

Sonic watched her go, her body disappearing into the white wall that was mouth to the cavern. The storm swallowed her up, leaving barely a trace of the cat who was gone like a phantom. He heard Knuckles scoff to himself at her attitude, Sonic glancing his way.

"Should she… she g-going off o-on her own like t-this?" The hedgehog asked, feeling concerned. When Blaze was in one of her tempers, her senses were known to be at their worst.

"Not like she'll freeze to death," his friend joked, trying to be assuring. Knuckles wasn't great at comfort. He'd rather punch things until they stopped complaining about whatever they were complaining about. "Besides, the fire is lookin' a bit on the low side."

"Knuckles, t-tell me what happened," Sonic demanded suddenly, getting straight to the chase as he managed to force himself to sit upward. He finally realized the heavy amounts of blankets he had covering him, fingers shakily pulling the fabrics closer to himself.

"Seriously don't remember huh?"

"N-no K-Knuckles," he huffed impatiently, teeth chattering.

"Let me off some key terms then," the echidna mused, leaning an arm on his propped knee once he sat down as comfortably as he could. "Ice, emerald, water, and tundra." Knuckles' fingers pointed out as he listed each of the four things. "Still nothin'? How 'bout fire?"

Like a key, those words opened a door and Sonic stared blankly at the floor, slowly processing what Knuckles just said.

"We were… were… looking for a… a chaos emerald…" Sonic managed to say. He glanced up at Knuckles for confirmation, which his friend gave with a nod. "E-Eggman wanted them for… for something."

"Keep goin' Sonic, its comin' aint it?"

Sonic only scrunched his eyebrows tightly in response. "We're in… in the t-tundra. We were crossing… crossing…"

_Blaze was standing beside, stiff as a petrified tree in the middle of the snow. Sonic had heard faint cracking of ice from beneath her feet, causing the hedgehog to reach his hand out warningly. They hadn't been expecting to find any sort of water on this part of the snowy wasteland. The group were so close together right now and yet too far apart._

" _Blaze, don't move," Sonic warned carefully. Knuckles was tense beside him, knowing he would be too heavy to do anything for their feline companion. Sonic could sense the pulsations of water beneath them, it was far from a still calm spot. If they fell in…_

_The feline glanced down at her feet, where part of her shoes were already being licked by dark icy water that seeped through the cracks. Heavy amounts of snow buffeted their faces, eyes shielded by ski goggles and white smoke spreading in front of panting mouths and noses. Sonic began his trek across the snow, stepping as lightly as his lithe body could manage._

" _Sonic,_ _ **don't**_ _," the feline warned with a low hiss. Even if she were trying to hide it, Sonic could hear the slight tension from fear in her tone._

_The hedgehog bundled in a green coat stopped briefly, eying her down. "You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you there."_

" _Stay with Knuckles, that is the sane option," Blaze insisted. "I got myself in this mess… I… I'll get myself out."_

_She lifted her knee slowly, only for yet another louder crack to zigzag under her. Blaze's weight shifted suddenly when she found her foot imbedded in the ice, slowly sinking. Her eyes widened and the feline tried to not panic. Sonic looked at Knuckles quickly._

" _Yo Knux! Get the ropes from your pack! Hurry!"_

" _On it man!"_

_Knuckles had done just that, pulled out a long coil of rope and tossed it to Sonic who grabbed it in his hands. When he'd turned back to Blaze, he saw her progressively sinking further and further. Her leg was stuck, swallowed by the cold water and her hands lay splayed upon the ice as lightly as she could. Sonic knew Blaze well, if she lost her cool like this, her flames would be flaring out of control. It had to be why the ice was breaking so quickly, triggered by her element of fire. Sonic tied the rope around himself and offered part of it to Knuckles to hold._

" _When I got Blaze, pull me back!" Sonic told him, nodding._

" _Count on it, blue boy!"_

_They were on borrowed time as Sonic fought against the strong winter winds and the thin ice beneath his shoes. He felt the ground under him fall beneath each footstep and he braved onward. It was agonizingly slow and yet it only took thirty seconds worth at most. Once he got to Blaze, he grabbed her by the shoulders, attempting to dislodge her from the water's grasp. Her whole leg was under there and she was kneeling. It was getting dangerous and Sonic bit at his bottom lip._

_He could feel the ice bending further and further, softly popping and snapping like fire wood. In a split second, the ice suddenly gave way. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Blaze, hauling her into the air and using as much force as he could to throw her back up before he vanished under the water. The last thing he saw before everything went dark was Blaze's shadow over him, trying to chase him as the river swept him away and feeling the tugging of Knuckles' as he struggled to keep his grip on the rope…_

Shuddering a breath when everything became crystal clear, Sonic gave a weak-sounding chuckle. "S-so much f-for the rope…"

"Cocky devil," Knuckles commented fondly, elbowing Sonic.

"F-face d-death with a little h-humor and a smile… I always say," the cold hedgehog joked, heaving a breath.

"Ya owe catwoman a thanks when she comes back," he told him. "When we got ya out, you were really scary Sonic. You almost stopped breathin', Blaze resuscitated you."

The vague memory of feeling her warm lips came to mind. "I owe… owe her m-more than a thanks," Sonic agreed, sounding drowsy.

"You're wiped hedgehog, try to get some sleep," Knuckles suggested, standing up and stretching. "When ya wake up again you'll feel so much better. The worst of it is over with."

The usually stubborn Sonic the Hedgehog only smiled sleepily at that, drained from the ordeal as he let himself lay down. He moved closer to the campfire, wanting as much warmth as possible on his chilly self. As he watched the flames dance before his eyes, Sonic couldn't help but think of a familiar certain someone. It was like looking into her eyes and with that image in mind, Sonic drifted off to sleep.

oo~~~~oo

He began to stir awake to soft fingers brushing through his quills, each tip warm as a afternoon summer day. Sonic leaned into it without much of a thought, just wanting to be as close as he could. A body was pressed softly against his own, working like a heater as another arm helped cradle him like a newborn. Sonic was in that place of sleep and awareness, stuck in-between worlds.

"You blue idiot," the owner of the warmth murmured softly. "You could have died coming for me… you have so much to lose here, I wish…" He could hear her swallow thickly. "I can't even describe how much you scared me today."

Sonic's head turned a little in her lap, feeling as she began fixing his blankets in a more orderly fashion. "No Eggman bot ever made me worry so much when it came to you, you're my… my best friend, I know you can't hear me… I feel so silly talking like this but I can't bear to express myself when you're awake, especially since it was my fault you got into this in the first place."

Her breath was fanning his face as he felt her lean down above him. "I can't make you promise to never do anything like that again, I know, you're too goodhearted. You give every ounce of your soul for those you love, even if… its your own."

He wasn't sure when his heart suddenly started to beat so rapidly in his chest, the hedgehog feeling awake now despite his closed eyes. Sonic heard her breathe in shakily, as if gathering some sort of nerve. When she grew silent for awhile, it made him wonder if she'd chickened out.

Sonic felt a soft pressure over his lips, it was only for a short moment, barely register able but he knew its meaning well. She was hugging him tightly now, fingers digging into his fur and face pressed into his shoulder. He felt her shake and without thinking, he reached his hand blindly to touch her cheek. The fur was soft under his hand as he cradled it, Blaze stiffened in surprise when she found his green eyes watching her out of the corner of her eye.

She said nothing but Sonic smiled. He hoped she understood his meaning as much as he had hers. Blaze's lip quivered but she remained strong, only smiling back after several long heartbeats. His thumb tickled her jaw before he let his hand lay limp in his lap. The feline rested her face near the side of his head, breathing deeply. Sonic leaned against her.

Blaze gave a quiet sigh from where she hugged his shoulders and neck. Sonic matched it with one of his own. They only breathed together, wrapped up in one another and Sonic decided that was enough for them.


	11. Memory

They had been married for a good year when Sonic found something from his wife's past. The storage room in the basement of their vacation home on Southern Island needed to be cleaned. Blaze, always one for order, had deemed it a growing hazard that couldn't be ignored any longer. Sonic didn't see much of an issue with it but he knew he wasn't exactly the most tidy hedgehog, since he liked to throw his clothes on the floor instead of the hamper for one.

To say his cleanly habits didn't drive Blaze up the wall would be an understatement of the century. Sometimes he wondered if Blaze would ever take him to side for a crash course in being at least presentably neat. Thankfully for Sonic, the feline never carried many intentions to change her husband, often saying she married him for all his quirks, even if he was a pig.

" _Just don't come home from rolling in the mud all day, then we'll_ _ **really**_ _have a problem!"_ Sonic recalled her saying one evening, pecking him on the nose after her long tangent. Her temper was a random thing in their relationship, Sonic learned how to handle it though like all the hurtles in their marriage and even before it. It was just another big adventure, one foot in front of the other.

When the couple weren't at the royal palace doing work, at least his wife handled the more difficult jobs since she was the one more adequate for them, they would spend their days off either traveling or just at their vacation home on Southern Island. Marine had been nice enough to buy them a place there as a wedding present, even going as far to help instruct how it had been built. As a result, it contained a heavy amount of the 'down under' feel Marine was known for, not that Blaze or Sonic really minded. She made it work as she blended in décor both retro and colonial. It was surprising Marine contained such a decorative eye by the time the house was shown off to them.

Of course, Sonic and Blaze put in their own unique touches like the candles and flowers on his wife's part and the beanbag chairs in the study for lounging. The house was very nice, having a kitchen that was attached to the dining room, a large window put in the ceiling. The living room was modest and made with glossy wood furniture as well as the bedroom. There was a bathroom that had a bathtub that could turn into a shower. Finally there was the basement and oddly, two spare rooms. During lunch after Marine's tour, Sonic could already remember how red his ears and face turned.

" _Marine, there's so much space here!"_ Sonic had said, leaning back in his chair as he munched on a sandwich.

" _Indeed, Marine, if you wanted to board with us during holiday I am sure there would have been enough room,"_ Blaze mused to Marine, daintily organizing a vase on the kitchen table.

Marine's face had twisted deviously from where she sat beside Sonic, grin so wide Blaze looked worried her head would split in half. The suggestive glint in those blue eyes sent Sonic on edge as he eyed her wearily.

" _I don't like that look,"_ Sonic instantly claimed while Marine jabbed him in the elbow playfully.

" _Those spare rooms ain't for me mates! They're gonna be for all those ankle biters you'll bring to visit ol' aunt Marine in a few years!"_

The red ketchup stain on the carpet floor was enough proof of how embarrassed he had been, dropping his food with a string of loud gibberish when those words left Marine's big mouth. Marine left them with a cackle not along after and the couple hadn't been able to look at the spare rooms the same way again. Usually they didn't do much with them but Marine had sprouted a topic the two danced around a lot. The idea of children wasn't something he and Blaze talked of much, if ever. They were still young, being only twenty-three and twenty-four so it wasn't a priority now. However with Blaze being a queen the prospect of kids was bound to be brought up in time and the notion made him both curious and uncomfortable all at once.

He supposed it would be another obstacle they would run into as time went on, so he often didn't think about it so intently. If it happened, it happened and he would just have to deal with it in his usual cool and fancy free manner.

Once the married duo descended the wood steps into the basement, Blaze carefully avoiding a squeaky step that usually annoyed her. Sonic knew about it and at times just to be silly would press his feet into it deliberately, grinning innocently the entire time with a loud 'oops.' Blaze felt along the wood wall, mumbling about why she married such a baboon of a man. Once he saw Blaze had found what she was looking for, her elegant fingers tapped against the switch. The light bulb dangling about them fizzled to life, making the dreary basement not so unbearably dark. Boxes were a common occurrence down here, stacking to the ceiling and some even tipped over and torn. Items of many kinds lay scattered on the ground and all over the shelves. Standing beside Blaze, he glanced up to see a spider web dangling above them.

Uneasily, he grabbed his bride by the shoulders and shuffled them away with a shudder. "Ugh, spiders."

"This is what happens when you don't keep something tidied religiously, Sonic," Blaze informed him, lightly shooing his hands away. "You'll get spiders."

"Yea well, you've always been the neat freak between you and me, honey," Sonic replied as he stepped back from Blaze, absently pulling at a box nearby. Dust exploded when he dropped it, the hedgehog coughing into his hands. "Who knew we had so much stuff."

"Correction, who knew _you_ had so much stuff," the cat said back, shooting him a pointed look as she began her own journey into the disorganized beyond that made up the basement. "I believe only a few of these things are mine."

Sonic, once he caught his breath, gave an appalled grunt. "Wait, you're really pinning all this on me? I'm pretty sure that dress rack over there would like to disagree! Same with this crate of books!" He dug through the box he had to show his proof, pulling out a thick-looking paperback novel to show his wife.

With her back to Sonic, she idly began putting whatever fallen knickknacks that were on the ground into boxes. "Dear, there's no need to be so defensive," she replied airily, waving her hand as she pulled out a pair of old sneakers. "I for one believe these are one of yours."

Sonic felt his irritation dissolve like water at the sight of them. "Hey! I can't believe those bad boys are still here!" Quickly in a blur, he shot over to Blaze to take the shoes from her. Laying them in his palms, he admired them with a nostalgic smile. "I went on so many adventures with these, I met you in them too, got married in them…"

"Thankfully they weren't so worn out by then," his wife mused, sarcasm in her voice.

Sonic just grabbed her by the shoulders with one of his arms, pulling her close for a hug. Nuzzling his nose against hers in a brief Eskimo kiss, he pushed her away playfully. "Love you too, Blaze."

She looked a little flushed, sighing loudly as she turned away from him again. He was always the more touchy feely one in the relationship and it left him giddy to no end when his antics left her adorably flustered. It was something he would never get tired doing. He glanced at the wedding band on his finger wistfully as he put his old running shoes down, moving them gently on a nearby crate. Sonic decided he would take them back to the castle when they went back home, feeling his mind wandering toward the spare rooms being built for the so-called ankle biters…

He could see a use for the old shoes in the future now that he let his mind drift. Sonic padded along the somewhat clear path the scattered belongings made, tip toeing to avoid tripping and landing in a heap of painful embarrassment. Near the back of the cluttered room, he found a particular-looking box. It was small and beige, a lining of old purple ribbon wrapping itself tight over the cover and tying itself at the bottom. With all the iconic cardboard boxes and wood crates all over, this little thing stood out like a sore thumb. Why was it buried so far back in here?

He crouched to pick it up in his hands, Sonic finding it to be super light. It was only the size of a shoe casing. Finding the knot, he was surprised to see it bound so tightly, as if to keep curious fingers out. Tugging at the bow string, managed to get it undone after some fiddling. Throwing the lid away into the abyss of other random stuff laden all over, he peered into the box.

Sonic found a white shawl folded nearly in it with pink lingering along the edges of it. It was a cute little thing and Sonic pinched it between his two fingers, lifting it out before taking it with his other hand to hold it out. Spreading it, he found it to be far too small for anyone in the house to wear. It was child sized. Turning it around, he craned his neck around to look behind him for Blaze.

"Hey honey! I found something!"

The sound of Blaze shuffling papers met his ears.

"Uh, Blaze?"

"Give me a second, dear!" She called back. Sonic waited impatiently, tapping his foot to a random beat. Eventually, she seemed to stop fiddling with whatever magazines she had discovered. "What sort of something?"

"Some sort of little shawl… cape… thing. I think its yours, has pink on it, so it's a hunch." He smiled a little but could feel it falter when Blaze gave a little gasp from across the room. "You stump your toe?" He asked worriedly.

She emerged from somewhere behind him, hobbling through the maze of debris to get a better look at what her husband found. Blaze's eyes flashed with some unrecognizable emotion as she looked at the little cape Sonic was holding. The way she looked at it made Sonic cock his head in concern, knowing by how his wife's face looked so taken aback, as if he'd thrown a curveball at her.

After several moments of silence, Blaze hesitantly asked for him to give it to her. He complied, placing it in her sad hands. Dolefully, her eyes fell to it as her thumbs smoothed the fabric. She took a seat on a nearby crate, laying it on her lap. Sonic followed after her.

"Yea, its mine," Blaze finally said. "I had hoped it was gone forever… personally."

_Here I thought Blaze would have been as happy as I had been when she found my old shoes…_ Sonic thought, pursing his lips. "Why? Its really adorable looking, if you ask me," he said, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. Adorable wasn't a word he said often and it felt degrading to his manhood.

"Adorable?" Blaze looked insulted. "Its… its… never mind," she huffed, frustrated. "Let's just put it back, forget you ever found it."

"Blaze," he began sternly, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her from getting up. "Please tell me why this has you all worked up."

"I am _not_ worked up!" She hissed, hackles raising.

"Honey, I know you too well. Now, what's wrong?" He crossed his arms, brows arching.

"Absolutely nothing," Blaze shot back, looking away from him.

Sonic was silent for awhile, knowing when Blaze had something set in stone she would rarely bend. However, since they married, Blaze was progressively loosening up on that old habit. With being married to someone who was able to freely express himself as much as he liked, his own habits began changing his wife's distant ways, making her personal bubble have room for two.

"Blaze, do you remember what we promised on our wedding vows?" Sonic inquired. It was out of the blue really and Blaze's tight expression twitched to show it. She looked surprised at that but didn't question him, just let her husband continue on what he wanted to say.

She was looking for an escape that didn't exist. "…no more secrets," she murmured, sounding reluctant as she tightened the fabric into a ball with her edgy fingers.

"Exactly, remember I even had the priest make us pinky swear on it?" Sonic continued, looking at her eyes as they tried to avoid his. In the end, it was a lost battle since he grabbed her by the chin gently to keep eye contact. "I told you stuff about whatever was bothering me, the same goes for you. You're my partner, its my job to make sure you're okay."

"It just… brings back bad memories is all," Blaze confessed once she found the courage to speak again. Sonic let her go once she willingly would look at him. "I used to have to wear this all the time as a kitten…"

"Why's that?"

"Because… because of my flames. I had a lot of accidents, much too uncontrollable for an eight year old," Blaze explained as she rubbed her thumb along the corner of the white shawl. "I would walk around blasting flames, you could say I wasn't popular among the other kids my age. Even after I was given this to wear by my grandmother, it made things much worse."

Sonic reached to take her hand in his to encourage her to keep speaking.

Blaze squeezed his fingers in response. "A lot of the other kids would try pulling it off to humiliate me, since they already knew what was under there. They used to shrink away like I was a ticking time bomb. Since it was fire proof, it helped to keep my pyrokinesis in check but was always a glaring reminder of my flaw and how dangerous I was to society. I grew up though… and once I could handle my fire decently, I was determined to bury this thing as far back as possible."

He looked at it carefully before regarding his wife. Pulling at her hand, Sonic tugged her so he could wrap his arms around Blaze. The shawl was pressed between them and Sonic laid his head on her shoulder. "What's done is done and now that you've told me, I think you need to find a way to let the pain go with some new memories, honey."

She found her arms caught between them so she couldn't really hug him back. So the cat settled with brushing her nose against his chin. "How so? I can't bear to think it could do any good for us now. Its not like I can even wear it."

He kissed her hairline. "We'll box it along with my shoes to give to our kids one day."

She caught her breath in her throat. "…what?"

"Just hear me out," Sonic continued, pulling Blaze back so he could smile at her. Blaze looked skeptical of him, however was willing to listen, even if she clearly thought his idea ridiculous. "It gave you problems, I know but you got it from your grandmother and it _helped_ you learn to control your flames. I think that's a bonus and you're carrying the pain inside still, I knew that the moment I met you. You aren't alone anymore and you need some kind of condolence for this, hiding it isn't going to help. It will just be found again and give you more problems."

He met her eyes, seeing as she thought his words over. "You'll only move on if you can let yourself move on from _this,"_ Sonic said, lifting the shawl once he had it in his fingers. "We'll make fresh, happier memories with the next generation, and one day, you'll be able to smile back on this knowing how it helped our kid!"

She took it back from him and stared at it, seeming torn on her husband's advice. Turning her eyes to him, she folded it neatly on her lap. "I'll need some time to think this over Sonic."

"Of course," he murmured, nodding his head.

"But if… if I do feel I am ready to part with what this shawl caused me… I suppose we could make a fresh start with it… one day."

_Four years after that, their toddling baby girl would curl in the crib with that very same shawl cast over her shoulders, bundled safely and tangled in the warmth of it as she fell into the nighttime spell. For once, Blaze could smile at it._


	12. Insanity

If there was one thing renowned Sonic the Hedgehog hated more than water, it had to be closed, tight spaces. At least with water he could move around freely even if it was sort of limited thanks to the laws of buoyancy. Here he was trapped in a cell, barely the size of a closet with bars made of some stinking metal too thick for him to bust through. It was dreary and gray, cobwebs and dust lining the ceiling and narrow hallway outside. It was if Eggman did it just to scrub the salt further into his open wounds with these dirty conditions. A lone light bulb kept flickering on and off, never before did Sonic question if he suffered some form of OCD because it was seriously bugging him more than it should have.

Sonic was pacing back and forth, the hedgehog trying to keep himself calm as he drummed his fingers along the ceil wall like a xylophone. That only humored someone for so long and once the five minute mark ticked by he was ready to begin yanking his hair out. Whatever the good doctor had planned for Sonic, he was beginning to wish Eggman would just get right to it, at least it would give him something to do from this abyss of nothing and teeny tiny cell.

Apparently Eggman was out 'out to lunch' according to the robot lackeys who dragged him here, whatever that meant. _For someone so bent on world domination he sure likes to take his sweet time…_ He supposed even evil dictators enjoyed taking a moment to sniff the flowers.

Right then and there Sonic decided that image was too freaky to imagine so he tried to repress it. Only moments later did he realize it was a lost cause since he quickly hit his head against the bars, whining indefinitely, "No! No! Eggman sniffing roses is utterly wrong! Someone take pity on me!"

Taking a deep breath, he stared blankly down the hallway. "I'll go mad if I stay in here any longer," Sonic droned, ears flat against his head. There wasn't anyone here to hear him complain and Sonic couldn't even talk some unfortunate guard's ears off. He found the whole situation completely unfair as he slumped against the ceil door, arms dangling out.

His green eyes fell to that pesky bulb and he furrowed his brows accordingly, frustrated at it. "Will you stop doing that!" He closed his mouth, puffing a loud breath with a deadpanned expression. "Look at me, talking to light bulbs and shouting at thin air. Our hero everybody, lets just slap 'mentally deteriorating' on his forehead right now."

"I concur," came a voice down the deserted hallway.

Sonic jumped in surprise, slamming his head against the metal bars as he backed away, the fur along his neck struggling to lay back. "By the name of my uncle Chuck, don't do that!" Sonic said, arms crossing.

"I'm sorry, you've been very entertaining for the last half hour," she remarked playfully, emerging from the lowlight gracefully. In her hand was a pair of keys attached to a chain, the feline twirling them on her index as they jangled.

"Wait a sec… you've been here for half an hour…" His jaw dropped. "Blaze, you're a stinker, you know that?"

She scoffed, "I wasn't just listening to your breakdown, hedgehog." Blaze eyed him down with a smoldering orange stare. "I had to dispatch a few robots outside this prison to get here. Your little show was just a bonus for me."

"Hilarious… yea, funny, since when did _you_ of all people sprout a sense of humor?" He pointed a finger at her accusingly.

"It comes with the company I keep," she answered simply, rolling her shoulders in a careless fashion.

"Its swell to see you weren't captured at least, so, can you get me out now?"

Blaze tapped her chin thoughtfully, letting her eyes wander to the ceiling as she played with the keys in her paws. "I'll need a moment to decide if I even should."

Sonic grabbed the bars and gave her the biggest puppy eyes he could muster. "Aw, c'mon Blaze! Don't be like that! This place is _crumby!"_ Sonic dragged the word out as far as he could and as loudly as possible. "I can't even stretch properly!"

"Perhaps it will be a nice lesson for you, to not be so reckless, I mean," Blaze put in, now looking at the blue hedgehog sternly.

"I wasn't reckless," Sonic defended, raising his hands. "I got tired of waiting, there's a difference."

"Your lack of control astounds me," his friend replied, sighing heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Sonic mumbled sullenly, "…says combustion lady."

"Pardon?" She curved her eyebrows and showed him the keys, shaking them tauntingly before his eyes. "You seem to forget who has the ticket to freedom."

"I didn't forget!" He let his shoulders sag in defeat. "Gosh, who knew you could hold such a grudge. I trip over one laser wire and the whole world implodes."

"It was not one, it was four."

"Tomatoes, tomato, same thing," Sonic sighed, looking away from Blaze.

He could feel the cat's eyes burning a hole into his temple and Sonic reluctantly turned back to her, seeing as she was glancing at him expectantly.

"You know, I hate when you look at me like that," he told her. "Its like I grew a third eye or something."

"You may as well have. Anyway, unless you promise me something right here and now, I will leave you." Blaze's word was usually law but Sonic was too stubborn at times to realize his dimensional counterpart was sometimes very right.

"Okay! Okay! Shoot!"

"You will stop being so reckless and think a little more, or at least as much as that action packed drive of a brain you have can comprehend," the feline told him, lifting a finger as she began her list of dos and donts. She ignored his defiant 'hey' for now. "If you hadn't felt the need to follow your antsy ways, you would be on _this_ side of the bars with me."

"Is that it?"

"No," Blaze quipped, adding a harsh edge to it. "You'll also need to marry me too."

His tongue felt heavy in his mouth as he gaped, something of a squeak emitting from his throat.

It didn't take long for the whiskers on Blaze's face to twitch in amusement as Sonic practically spoke gibberish to deny her demand. Of course, when Sonic noticed how red-faced she was in fighting a few giggles, he realized something was up and reached through the bars to fist her coat. Pulling her over to him, Blaze was covering her face with her hand and snorting with repressed laughter.

"Amy told me to try that one day," Blaze said between breaths. "Oh boy am I glad I did."

He pouted. "You females are evil creatures." The blush burning at the tips of his ears and the beige fur in his cheeks began to die down when he got through the façade.

When Blaze managed to get her composure back, she looked at him calmly. "But in all seriousness, you still need to promise to be less reckless."


	13. Misfortune

She stared out the window by her bedside, large and rectangular as it gave Blaze a great view of the city. Many of the buildings were tall, reaching passed the clouds and the occasional hovercraft came floating right on by. As much as being located so high up made her want to burrow under the sheets in terror, Blaze was grimly fascinated as she tried glancing down the good ten story building she was located in. The feline didn't plan on being in the hospital, especially on today of all occasions. Her arm and leg were wrapped in bandages and held up by a sling to keep them elevated. She wasn't supposed to be discharged until a couple of days, the doctors implementing technology to encourage bone and cell reconstruction. It was still in its infancy and Blaze didn't feel much different than earlier from the treatment.

Every joint still ached and the idea of even _trying_ to reach an itch on her arm made her want to explode in tears. Blaze slumped further into the pillows placed behind her, trying to make the best of her situation. The bed wasn't too comfortable and the television on the wall had over one hundred something channels yet nothing interested her. It gave off a faint buzzing noise when Blaze settled on the static part of the network, the limbo of TV. This whole position she was in was depressing, Blaze _hated_ being confined to bed rest since all she could think about was what she could be doing instead.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a choice on the matter thanks to a shattered foot, broken leg and arm. A bruise the size of a watermelon made half her forehead look swollen and the wound there had been stitched. Her hair was cut short thanks to it and Blaze felt very subconscious despite herself. Blaze hoped it wouldn't take too long to grow back out again.

Blaze turned her attention to the door when the knob began to jiggle, the queen perking her ears weakly when she heard voices speaking on the other side of it. A doctor walked in, a handsome tall buck with large antlers, clipboard in hand as he stopped to glance down at it. Once he glanced to her and his papers, he seemed satisfied and turned to gesture behind him.

"Ms. Cat," the deer began, his tone smooth and professional. "You have visitors. Ladies, please come in and try to keep quiet. Your friend has gone through a few treatments in the last couple hours, she needs to rest."

"No need to worry Dr. Hide," a woman's voice reassured. "My daughter and I will be sure to keep our indoor voice, isn't that right Cream?"

"Of course mom! I mean…" The little bunny cleared her voice as she padded into the room after Vanilla, shyly smiling at the amused doctor. "…of course mom," she repeated in a whisper. Blaze watched as she tightened her arms around her chest, a paper bag crinkling softly.

"Mrs. Vanilla! Cream!" Blaze smiled at them, trying to raise her head to get a better look at them.

"Blaze!" Cream called back, practically bouncing to her friend's bedside.

Dr. Hide shook his head, looking at the older rabbit beside him. "So much for that," he mused, earning a apologetic look from Vanilla. "Now, now, Ms. Cat, you mustn't strain yourself."

Blaze lowered her head back to the pillows reluctantly, however did partially agree with him. The basic movement caused severe pain and Blaze wasn't too keen on repeating it so soon. Cream grabbed Blaze's good hand in both of hers once she put the bag down, brown eyes brimming with sympathy. The feline modestly blinked, touched as she raised her face to the girl's mother when Vanilla approached. Standing beside her daughter, the rabbit gently cradled Blaze's cheek with a soft hand in a maternal fashion, smoothing the roughened fur with her thumb.

"How are you holding up, dear? We came as soon as we could," the mother said, her face copying her daughter's.

Blaze felt small being treated like this but it was a pleasant sort so she leaned herself against Vanilla's paw. "I've had worse, let's just go with that, Mrs. Vanilla," Blaze replied, her smile waned and little. "I'll be released in a few days if the medical treatments work."

"Oh, you shouldn't say _if,_ Blaze," Cream told her feline companion, tangling her fingers in Blaze's own. "You should always say _when_."

"Cream's right," Vanilla replied, nodding toward her doe. "A positive mindset will lead to a healthy body and lifestyle."

She inwardly sighed, letting her face fall between something blank and tired. _Easier said than done when your leg is broken all the way to the hip…_ However to humor them, she tried to sound a little more optimistic. "I will try girls," she agreed.

"Good!" Cream was beaming happily, snuggling their conjoined hands against her furry face. Then she let them go, carefully placing Blaze's hand on her lap before she grabbed the bag she'd brought. Off the end table it went, Cream shyly showing Blaze. "I know it won't do any good now but… it was your birthday so I had gone out to get you something. I even saved up for it with my own allowance, Blaze."

Blaze raised her eyebrows. "Did you now?"

"Yes, she did so many chores for me and neighbors all month," the rabbit's mother said in affirmation, looking proud.

"Here, I'll take it out for you," Cream offered, digging her arm into the brown bag. Blaze couldn't fight her curiosity, the cat struggling to lean over to look despite Dr. Hide's disapproved stare from across the room. Cream pulled out a pair of sneakers, they were white with marker drawn purple flames along the side and front. It was surprisingly detailed, fancy pink glitter simulating smoke as it wounded around the heel. "I painted them myself."

Blaze felt herself grow warm and fuzzy on the inside. "Cream, they're beautiful," the cat told her. "I… I love them."

The compliment seemed to send the rabbit almost flying as she stood on the tips of her toes gleefully. "I am so glad you like them Blaze! I hope you get better soon so you can wear them," Cream chimed, ending her statement with a little frown. "I'm sorry you got hurt on your birthday…"

Vanilla rested her palm on Cream's shoulder. The feline shook her head, trying to reach out to offer comfort to her younger friend. She didn't make it very far since she fell back into bed with a pained grunt. "Cream, its not your fault," she assured, tone sounding strained as she tried to ignore the intense ache pulsating through her.

It wasn't the rabbit's fault at all when in reality it was _his._ She knew he hadn't meant for this to happen but she felt somewhat bitter that he'd only gotten away with a sprained foot and broken wrist. While she was far more crippled for now, it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth she didn't want. Cream met Blaze's eyes as she took in the royal's words, slowly perking back up with another one of her smiles.

"Okay," the bunny girl finally agreed. It made Blaze feel somewhat better as she curled the edges of her lips back at her.

There was silence for a few short moments before Blaze caught sight of Dr. Hide speaking to someone in the doorway. The two rabbits followed Blaze's stare, all ears lifting to listen.

"…its Sonic, no need to call me Mr. Hedgehog," the second voice said, sounding very sheepish.

"Of course, I apologize… erm Sonic," Dr. Hide replied, pulling at his shirt collar uneasily. Sonic was a celebrity in his world so it was no surprise the medical professional was so taken aback with being casual with him. "Shouldn't you be at home resting?"

"I barely got a scratch on me doc, I just wanna check in on a friend," Sonic said back, Blaze now seeing the blue hedgehog as he stood in the doorframe. The deer was backing away to let him in, nodding.

"Yes, yes… please, come in. I am sure Ms. Cat would enjoy the support of her friends."

Sonic came hobbling in, crutches braced under his arms as he kept his left foot carefully propelled in the air. His hand was wrapped in a bandage, a splint keeping it straight as an arrow. It looked horribly stiff and Blaze suddenly was taking back her bitterness over his lesser injuries. No matter how little they seemed they were obviously painful, especially on a free spirit like Sonic the Hedgehog. He had a couple of welts all over his being.

He raised his green eyes guiltily to Blaze, who looked away to stare at the window. Sonic didn't say anything, only stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as he balanced on one foot. When Cream glanced at him, the hedgehog managed a smile just for her, even if it didn't quite meet his usually bright eyes.

"Hey kiddo," Sonic greeted, turning to the rabbit's mother. "Same to you, Vanilla."

Vanilla seemed to sense the slight tension rising in the small hospital room, her motherly gaze turning between the two adolescents with understanding. She reached down for Cream's hand softly, crouching to get a better look at her daughter.

"Cream, lets go to the lunch room to pick Blaze a snack up," Vanilla suggested. "We can even get something for us too." She turned to Dr. Hide. "Would you join us, Dr. Hide? I am afraid I might get us lost getting to the lunch room."

Cream was confused but relented on poking her nose further. She wrinkled her button nose as she glanced at the two adults. "Is there apple sauce, Dr. Hide?"

The doctor rubbed the back of his neck with his clip board a little meekly. "I will guide you there, sure and yes little girl, there is apple sauce. We have cinnamon apple sauce too." Dr. Hide began coaxing Sonic for his attention, snapping his fingers. "Sonic, would you mind staying with Ms. Cat? Everyone knows you're a respectful, upstanding hedgehog, so it shouldn't be a issue."

Sonic shook his head in an assuring manner. "I don't mind at all. I wanted a moment to talk to her anyways."

Vanilla smiled. "Thank you Sonic, dear. Lets head out, we'll be back as soon as we can." Blaze caught the wink she threw at the hedgehog, who seemed to look grateful as the woman lead Cream and the doctor out, closing the door behind them.

Blaze managed to raise her head to him, eyebrows knotting. Sonic, despite his relaxed stance, didn't meet her eyes when she did finally cast her sights on him. It told her he was still feeling lousy over what had occurred today and part of Blaze was glad for it. The other half though wanted to smack herself with a newspaper for taking satisfaction in the guilt he was dwelling upon.

"Look, Blaze…" Sonic began, hopping over to stand at Blaze's bedside. He tensed with each step, face twisting up at being so utterly sore. He opened his mouth to speak further but for once, Sonic was lost on what to say.

"Are you okay?" Blaze cut in, briskly looking him over.

"Am _I_ okay?" He sounded stupefied, blinking rapidly. "Honestly Blaze, I should be the one asking you that."

Blaze shrugged a shoulder to the best of her ability, fighting off a wince. "I believe its easy to tell just looking at me, wouldn't you say?"

Sonic didn't seem too pleased with that answer, since he folded his ears back like a kicked puppy. "Its just…" He tightened his fingers around his crutches, sighing, "…You know I didn't mean for all this to happen, right?"

The cat gazed at him in silence. Sonic knew her well enough to know by her eyes that she was giving him the opportunity to speak further. "I thought the plane was all set to fly, I was just so excited to show you it. You even got passed that fear of heights you had to set foot in it!" He chuckled sadly, "And I done goofed up."

"As much as I am inconvenienced by your present, please know I am not directly mad at you," Blaze told him once he was done speaking. "I am more so distressed that it… even happened. To be frank, I am quite relieved _I_ am here instead of you."

"It doesn't help that its my fault, Blaze. I was sort of hoping you were going to yell at me," Sonic confessed, leaning against the wall tiredly. "You're frustrated and I am so confused why you aren't letting it out at me over this."

Blaze took his words with consideration, wondering _why_ she wasn't giving him utter hell for putting her here. He'd built a plane for her birthday without Tails' help and together, they'd flown in it. Everything had started out well enough once Blaze got over her acrophobia, the cat could even say she was enjoying it despite it all. However, it all changed when the plane suddenly began malfunctioning and they crashed from such a severe height. She'd woken up in the hospital not long after that, having passed out on impact.

She supposed the reason she wasn't demanding his head was because he couldn't control things that happened in life. Sonic knew that, it was his motto practically and he was all for going with the flow on the road of mortality. Yet here he was, beating himself up over a crisis Sonic didn't intend to happen.

"Its simple Sonic," Blaze murmured. "Its life."

He looked a little taken aback at her casual statement. "There's a difference between facing a road block and being able to jump it, Blaze," he told her, frowning.

"Indeed there is, this is only one road block we weren't able to jump," she continued, narrowing her eyes.

"But… it was your _birthday._ Bad things shouldn't happen on days like…"

"Birthday or not, incidents will happen no matter what. You were the one who taught me that and it seems _you_ have forgotten. Stop being bias Sonic, there is no mercy for anyone." She looked at him sternly, watching Sonic as he met her eyes quietly, mouth a thin line.

Blaze could tell he hadn't been expecting her to throw his old words back at him and he was backing into a figurative corner. Suddenly, he let his crutches go and leaned his hands against the bed. His head was bowed and Blaze could see his face vaguely. Something wet touched the sheets and it was then Blaze realized he was crying. The usually so brave and cool Sonic the Hedgehog, shedding tears like the everyman.

She stared in muted shock, frozen as he looked up at her, wiping his watery eyes with the back of his palm. "Y-you're right," he mumbled shakily. He smiled at her, sniffling. "I never thought you'd be in my position telling me stuff like this…" Sonic managed a short laugh for her, the corners of his eyes still dripping.

"Sonic…"

He raised his hand to stop her from talking. "I-It's okay," he sniffled, still grinning. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Blaze looked doubtful. She nodded eventually, consenting to his words and small smile. "I am relieved you're fine as well. I wanted to be angry and jealous of you but the moment you walked in..." Her eyes fell to his crutches. "...I couldn't manage to keep such a act going. You're too spirited to be put here like this."

Sonic reached his hand out to smooth the fur on her head fondly, careful of her stitching and bruising. Despite his teary eyes, he was glowing softly. "Its life," he quipped.

"Yes, yes it is," Blaze agreed, voice low as she met his eyes.

For awhile they said nothing, only gazed at each other. Sonic eventually broke the silence to turn to look out the window, watching as some pigeons flew toward the big blue sky. "Live and learn," he mumbled, turning back to her.

She smiled. "Live and learn," she repeated.


	14. Smile

The sound of a baby's screeching caused a great deal of woe in the king and queen's chambers. It couldn't be helped they knew but it didn't mean they were going to take it like a breeze. Blaze was tangled up sleepily in the purple sheets by her husband, arms thrown over her eyes as she mumbled incoherently.

"…what?" Came the groggy voice of Sonic beside her, his back to his wife.

"I said its your turn to check on Zipper," she repeated, fighting off a yawn.

She felt him sigh beside her loudly. "But honey," he complained. "I already took my shift… its your turn…"

Blaze tried racking her memory for this however found she was too deprived of sleep to remember if he was right or not. She was also groggy enough to consider if arguing with Sonic would cost more energy than leaving the bed to go tend their infant. Blaze decided she needed to get up in the end, merely rolling like dead weight to her side of the bed.

"Alright," Blaze told him, her voice sounding exhausted. "You win." Putting her slippers on, the queen stood up, bundling her robe loosely around her waist.

Sonic was snoring away the moment she began to pad away toward the doorway that lead to the nursery. It was originally a study but once Zipper had come into the picture, she'd ordered it to be turned into a room for the baby. Sonic and she could have left the sleepless nights to the castle staff but Blaze had decided she wanted to be directly involved with her daughter from the very beginning. While Sonic seemed to have adapted into the role of dad smoothly, Blaze herself was still pretty awkward handling this new role as a mother.

Being orphaned so young it was a wonder she could even attempt being a decent parent. Following Zipper's cries, she neared the crib to peek down at her. The kitten was bundled up in Blaze's old white shawl, little paws flailing as she made her cheeks red from screaming so much. Ears sensitively pinned back at the noise, Blaze pressed onward as she reached down to grab Zipper by her armpits. She picked the squeaking kitten up, cradling her in the curve of her arm as she lay the babe's head to her chest.

Blaze hummed to her, rocking her gently. "Now, now sweetheart, what has you in such a fuss? Daddy was with you barely an hour ago," she said, looking down at Zipper's face.

Zipper was part hedgehog like Sonic but her feline features were far too much to ignore. She looked very much like Blaze, having the same lavender-like fur only slightly bluer and deeper. Her muzzle was peach and a glaring reminder of who her father was, which Sonic flaunted proudly whenever they introduced their girl.

" _She's got my snout! Clearly she's going to be great like her old man!"_ Sonic said once. When Blaze raised her eyebrows at him at that, the hedgehog only ran his hand through his quills sheepishly as he held their daughter. _"I didn't forget! She's got your winning smile, honey!"_

She'd rolled her eyes fondly at that, knowing how much of a goofball he could be. As for the smile remark, Blaze couldn't recall seeing such a thing just yet. Zipper sniffled into her little hands, her loud cries becoming a mixture of mewling and whimpering. Blaze didn't know who's eyes she had, as the baby was born blind from the very beginning. They were cloudy and blue, always looking in random directions as she would struggle to decide where her two favorite people were. Zipper always knew who was holding her though, even if she or Sonic were not talking, she just could tell. Blaze was curious as to how Zipper did that however she was relieved that Zipper was so aware despite her handicap. Sonic had taken the discovery with stride, not bothered at the imperfection that married their baby girl.

It didn't stop some of the whispering her kingdom did over it when word got out to the public. Even the council liked to question about what would become of Zipper as she grew older, since they remarked a cripple couldn't possibly take the throne in the future. She remembered growing furious at that, slamming her palms on the table with hackles raised in defense.

" _What_ _ **my**_ _daughter is to become will not be defined because she can't_ _ **see!**_ _"_ Fire practically spit from her mouth as she growled. She knew what it was like to be judged over something she hadn't control over, Blaze refused to let that become a fate of her daughter.

It had taken the queen's entire might to not ignite the room in flame, Sonic pulling on her arm with narrowed eyes as he mumbled to her. _"Blaze, we're not going to let them tell us what to do with Zipper. Now relax, you know they didn't mean to sound so… rude about it."_ Sonic didn't seem to believe his own statement, since the words came out rather forced.

The meeting had come to a close not long after her outburst, the council knowing playing with Blaze's temper was about as safe as a rearing bull. Blaze refused to let her kingdom label Zipper was hopeless, the kitten was barely four months old as is. Zipper was Zipper and that was all Blaze needed to know as her mother.

Blaze took a seat in the nearby rocking chair when Zipper gave a rather indignant squeak, fisting her hand into her mouth when she discovered her fingers. She growled lowly, ears flattened and tail puffing up. The queen smoothed her finger over Zipper's hairline, coaxing her to try and find just what mommy was bothering her with.

"Zipper," she whispered, purring sleepily. "Its late, did you wake mommy up just to play?"

As if to reply, Zipper grabbed Blaze's hand with her own, the blind princess bringing them to her mouth. Blaze tugged her fingers free, shaking them tauntingly for Zipper to swat. Zipper knotted her eyebrows together huffily, trying to take her mother's hand back.

" _Mew_!" She only mewled from where she was cuddled upon Blaze's lap. One of Blaze's arms kept her secure while her hand continued to tease her kitten. When she continued to fail at grasping her mother's palm, Zipper ended up squealing loudly, thrashing in her mother's hold.

Blaze picked her up with both hands, lifting her above her head to peer at her noisy offspring. " _Sshh!_ You're going to wake daddy!" She scolded softly.

_Yawn._ "Too late, honey," came Sonic's voice from the doorway. He was stretching, arms raised over his head and neck bent a comfortable angle. He had on a pair of slippers like Blaze as they were a matching set. Flopping against the doorframe, he looked at his wife and daughter with half-lidded eyes and a lazy smile.

"You should go back to bed," Blaze told him, shifting Zipper back into a cradle in her arms. "Its my shift."

"Yea but it got way too cold the moment you got up," Sonic chuckled. "Besides, I can't ignore Zipper. She knows how to make herself heard."

"Just like a certain someone I know," the feline mused playfully, leaning back into her rocking chair while Zipper perked her ears at the appearance of Sonic.

"Got no idea what you're talking about," he replied innocently, moving with long strides to stand near Blaze. "Hey there little Z!" Sonic reached down to pat her head, earning a delighted purr from the kitten who leaned into his familiar palm.

She gave a content meow, twisting to grab her tiny paws around his wrist. Sonic coaxed Blaze to let him hold her, which she complied by passing the infant into his hands. The kitten squirmed in his arms, eagerly making baby talk.

Sonic nodded to Zipper, as if really listening to what the kitten was trying to say. "I see, I see…" He pretended to say thoughtfully, holding her to his chest. "Yea, I know, that's gotta be rough buddy."

Blaze crossed her arms, lifting her leg to have it hang over her knee as she watched them. She somewhat envied how easily he'd adapted into the shoes of fatherhood but it was always overtaken by the 'aw' factor as a warmth bubbled in her belly. When she saw Zipper smiling, the queen closed her eyes with a fond sigh.

"She never does that for me," Blaze said.

"Does what?" He mused, green eyes flicking up to Blaze curiously.

"Smile," she remarked, gesturing to the infant's cute face. "I can get a purr or a laugh but never a full blown smile like that."

Sonic didn't seem to believe her as he handled Zipper. "Aw, I doubt that. You never grin big you know."

"Of course but…"

Sonic cut her off, waving his hand to silence her. "And remember what I said? She's got _your_ smile, Blaze."

Blaze took a moment to think and shook her head slowly in realization. "Heh, I guess you're right dear."

"Since when haven't I?" He smugly quipped, winking.

"Oh I can name plenty! Like…" Blaze reached her hand out to begin counting off her fingers leisurely.

Covering Zipper's ears with his hands, he grinned sheepishly. "Hey, no need for the kid to know! I got a reputation to keep up with her," Sonic chuckled.

Zipper seemed too busy trying to gnaw at one of Sonic's quills to really care, mewling all the while. Blaze curled her lips at the corner, smirking. "Sonic, she's going to love you no matter what. She's already your biggest fan."

He seemed to melt as he looked at his daughter, Blaze's words tickling him pink. "I sometimes worry she won't like me one day," Sonic sighed, chuckling modestly.

"Dear," Blaze began, standing up to look at him. She smiled at him, cupping the side of his face with her warm hand. "Tell me how something like her isn't going to keep on liking you." She pointed at the kitten who had suddenly began growing silent, cuddled into Sonic's chest into a ball, mouth sleepily teething his arm. "Now when Zipper is a teenager _than_ we can start worrying whether or not she likes you because she is so going to give us hell."

Sonic glanced down at their little bundle before turning to Blaze with another of his famous grins. "Oh definitely," he guffawed. "We were terrible as teenagers, sure, fought evil but…" He muffled his mouth with his hand, practically red-faced. "L-like that one time we…!"

Flushing in embarrassment, she flicked his forehead, burning him slightly. "Don't remind me please!" Blaze whispered harshly.

"Aw, c'mon, it was hilarious when you burnt that guy's boxers and…"

"Okay! I think its time we put Zipper to bed and close that mouth of yours… _dear."_ Blaze took Zipper from a laughing Sonic as she walked toward the crib, settling the now sleepy baby into her soft sleeping place. Sonic snorted from behind her but Sonic ignored him, tail swishing behind her quickly as she leaned down to kiss the kitten's soft forehead. "Daddy is stupid but we love him anyway," she mumbled, earning a quiet mewl.

When Blaze began to pull away, she stopped suddenly when she saw Zipper's smile. It was very small, barely noticeable and Blaze chuckled, smoothing her thumb over the baby's lips gently to trace it. Sonic hovered behind her, leaning over to rest his chin on her shoulder to beam proudly down at Zipper.

"Sonic," Blaze murmured.

"All ears, hun."

"I think everything will be okay," she said with a purr, eyes closing as she felt Sonic chuckle against her back.

"You only _just_ realized that?"


	15. Silence

His reflection, dark and brown, stared back at him as he stirred a spoon idly around the mixture of hot chocolate. Sonic sat in the barstool of a cozy diner, soft romantic jazz music playing in his ears. Everything had a homey feel to it, from the polished wood floors to the fire place in the corner that was popular for roasting marshmallows and chestnuts, even the company gave one the surrealism of family. The lighting was dim, giving the area a lazy feel to it for some.

Heaving a loud sigh, the hedgehog let his head burrow into his arm as it lay splayed out on the counter. The drink had long gone cold and it was easily forgotten, the bartender sliding the beverage from his loose fingers.

"I presume you didn't find the cocoa satisfactory sir?"

Sonic raised his eyes from his pitiful position, chin lifting slightly to look at the woman. "Your stuff is great, I'm just not tasting it right now is all."

"I see..." Sensitive to Sonic's more weary posture and tone, she began to step away from him, feeling he probably wanted to be left alone. "Well, if you are wanting something else just call me over sir." He was appreciative of that, wanting as much space as he could. Yet, he couldn't stand how alone he was feeling too. Guess he couldn't decide just what he wanted.

Sonic didn't answer in words but mindful of courtesy, he did flick his hand up before staring forlornly at the wall. He pressed his ears back, feeling his throat tighten before the hedgehog fought to not bang his fist into the table.

Frustration ebbed at him like water against the tide. Conversation around him buzzed loudly behind him, mixing with the music as it suddenly began picking up in tempo. A few people pushed their chairs in to partake in dancing. Sonic nipped his lower lip in a moody fashion, arms crossing. His nose peaked over his elbows.

Usually the life of the party, here Sonic was reduced to a lonely, unhappy soul. How the mighty have fallen he supposed with a loud exhale.

Suddenly he felt something warm brush against his side, the hedgehog closing his eyes hoping that the company would disappear. They'd picked the barstool next to him of all the places and it left him childishly annoyed.

He kept his mouth shut however, not wanting to make a scene.

"Ignoring the problem isn't going to make it go away, Sonic," came the voice, sounding airy despite the clipped undertone.

The waitress from earlier returned to serve the new arrival, scribbling loudly with a pen and promising to get the order to them quickly as possible.

Offering thanks, the unwelcome companion returned to focusing solely on him. He groaned softly.

"No one asked you Blaze," he grit out.

"It's been a week now, how long will it take you to put this behind us?"

Had it been that long? Sonic was a bit surprised that he'd been brooding for seven days, seven days that he could have spent doing what Sonic the Hedgehog was supposed to do, best evil and hang with friends. Perhaps the hero complex wasn't what he fancied for now.

"I got nothing to put behind you." He reluctantly looked at her now, seeing her elegant brows knot together in what one could call exasperation.

Or perhaps he just wanted to ignore the fact she of all people could provide pity in eyes usually so harsh. That he himself was on the receiving end where he found himself never belonging in.

"Don't be foolish, we are friends. Your suffering is mine as well," the cat told him sternly, speaking in low tones.

"Blaze. I am hardly suffering. She was just a notch in my belt." He wanted to believe that, really he did but it was difficult because he knew it was a big lie.

Blaze lowered her mouth to his ear. "You can be as stubborn as you like Sonic but it's not going to fix things with Amy!"

He got up abruptly, startling the waitress as she bought Blaze her order in his loudness of the table banging and bar stool skidding. Nearly dropping the platter, she stared blankly between the two of them. "Um..."

"I need some air." Sonic began to make his way out the door as quickly as possible, the room was crowded and tight after all.

He was vaguely aware of Blaze telling the woman to put the order in a portable plastic. She needed to help patch something. At the moment, the hedgehog couldn't be bothered to care.

Crisp cold air tickled his arms and Sonic breathed it in greedily with his mouth. It was pitch black out, nearly midnight and Sonic wondered why Blaze had even pursued him at such an hour. Bathing in moonlight, he leaned against the door with his foot pressing into the wall. Arms curved behind his head, he heard the saloon doors of the diner open quickly.

The slim female had hurried out quickly, a paper bag pressed into her breast as she looked around for him. Sonic gave her a small, strained smile that was glinted gold under porch light.

"Thought I'd slip away didn't cha Blaze?" He inquired knowingly, gauging her face for a reaction. It was pretty blank overall, a common feat of his dimensional counterpart.

"You did seem upset by my arrival..."

"I got over it. So, why are you even here? It's late."

She squinted her eyes in the darkness. They were dimly shimmering with the natural night vision of felines. "You as well. I however know why you're here at such an ungodly hour."

"What ever gave that away?" The words came out far more scathing than he meant for them, even sounding rather demeaning as if she were stupid.

"I know Amy broke up with you Sonic."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, only faintly disturbed by the muffled song from with the diner. It was far too happy for the conversation Sonic was about to have to deal with.

He brushed it off with a grumble, sighing, "Again, so what?"

"You weren't what she thought you were. That's hurting your pride, isn't it Sonic? So in love with the lie she made up..."

Sonic bristled. "It wasn't a lie Blaze."

"Then what was it?"

"It's who I'm supposed to be Blaze! A hero!"

Blaze's face softened in the low light, however her disappointment showed at his words. "Is that really all there is to you?"

He started. "No. No its not." Frustration laced the words and Sonic stopped his shoe in the ground. "But gosh sometimes I wish it was."

"You were never one to wish and wait for things, my friend." Her voice was gentle to his ears, followed by the cautious touch of her fingers on his arm.

"Yeah, and you were never one to dish out sympathy. Really, how low have I gone?" Chuckling grimly, he rested his head against the wall further, sliding down to sit down with his arms thrown loosely in his lap.

Blaze quietly settled down beside him. Suddenly there was the sounds of paper scrunching together and when Sonic turned to look at her curiously, Blaze was offering him a cookie. He arched his brows in a bemused fashion at how her face looked as if she were committing a scandal.

"Thought it might help, it was Cream's idea... randomly came back to me when we were inside... says it's a last resort if I didn't get you to crack..." She looked so awkward with her ears folding back, fingers a bit stiff. After being stared at for several moments that felt like years she scowled. "Will you take the cookie or not?"

"You know even if I do take it it's not going to magically make me feel sunshine and rainbows, right?"

"Of course not but I suppose you'd find it better comfort than me going on how you need to get yourself together."

"Ha, ha... true. Anyway, I see peanuts on that cookie." A bit of the old him shined through as Blaze just shoved into his hands as if in a final act of defiance.

"Eat it or you owe me fifty rings for it," Blaze simply said, lifting her snout up as she leaned her head against the wall.

Sonic took a bite out of it to satisfy Blaze despite his dislike of peanuts. He chewed in silence, face tipping down slightly so his chin met his chest. Even after he finished the cookie, no one said anything to the other. Blaze just breathed loudly, white hair puffing out from out her lips. Sonic watched her from the corner of his eye before staring up at the night sky, cloudless with a shining white moon that was surrounded by a sea of stars.

Suddenly, Blaze spoke. "You haven't sunken low Sonic."

He perked his ears and turned to her, she wasn't looking at him but her hands. "Pardon?"

"I said you haven't sunken low. You're just dealing with this as a normal person would." Blinking her eyes slowly, Blaze turned to face him. "You seemed very happy with her."

"Yeah, I was. She really grew up over the years, so I gave us a chance. Amy was real fun when she wasn't being so... obsessive." He smiled a little before shaking his head to the side. "I thought it'd be easy street, a relationship with her. We're friends so it should have been the most natural thing."

"But it wasn't."

"No, it wasn't. I never thought I wouldn't be good enough for her."

Blaze rested her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Even from beneath her soft gloves the warmth of the fire she controlled simmered beneath the palm and digits. "You were enough, she just didn't understand the real Sonic, the one that wasn't off besting baddies all the time. She loves you still Sonic, you know."

"Of course she does, the hero half of me." Sonic lifted his head up, returning his eyes to Blaze who only smiled gently.

"Amy will still care for you, even if you weren't the Sonic she kept believing you were."

"I know, I know and I appreciate it. To be frank though, its more so wounding that the first girlfriend I took, Amy Rose the biggest fangirl who _demanded_ I marry her, failed. Somewhere out there someone is having a really good laugh at my expense!" The hedgehog rolled his eyes, earning a smirk and scoff from the feline next to him.

"The wound will heal and when it does, there will be others Sonic. The world is big, you know that." Earning a light jab from Sonic's elbow, Blaze huffed,"I am serious!"

"Yeah, yeah... can we ditch all this poetic talk and go for a run? I think I am so done of being pitiful right about now. I mean, I was worse than Shadow this week. How did you ever put up with me!" He began to stand up, stretching his arms high above his head as Blaze too sprang to her feet with all the fluid grace a cat would possess.

"Easy, you are my best friend and no matter how long you may brood, I know Sonic the Hedgehog will always spring back in the end." She reached for his palm, threading their fingers together as she smile. "That is all I need when it comes to you, besides, I've given you more than enough hell myself."

"Yeah, you have, and I even got the burn scars to prove it!" He grinned at her. "Come on, let's get out of here. Its about time I move on forward."

"Are you really going to be okay with this?"

"Sure, in time but time is too short to waste thinking about it. I've already wasted more than enough of it." He began to walk, stepping away from the diner with Blaze interlocked by his fingers.

Blaze looked at him. "You know you don't have to fake being strong for me, Sonic. You can..."

He cut her off. "I'm not faking it. I'm just going what I should done from the start: put it behind us."

She nodded her head slowly. "Of course."


	16. Questioning

There wasn't a whole lot Zipper the Hedgecat knew, seeing as she'd only lived three years of life so far. It was crystal clear to the blind princess however that her mother and father loved her plenty, even if Daddy was away often to fight evil, that had always been enough to her.

The kitten prowled the hallways of the castle, short tail fluffed up eagerly. A unfortunate koala guard was stuck babysitting the royal furball. She followed his footsteps easily, her ears and nose making up for the lack of eyesight. Zipper heard a mumbling from around the corner, perking like a daisy as she grin.

"I know you are there Gardon!" She called out loudly, leaping to grab for his leg with her hands.

A grunt came forth from him, followed by the crashing of what sounded like a vase as Gardon was forced backwards by the frisky Zipper. They fell together and with a triumphant growl, Zipper grabbed his ear with her teeth.

"That you did princess," he huffed, getting up as he struggle to pull the kitten off who squirmed. "Princess Zipper, I already have one nipped ear as is. Your mother has stated plenty I am not a chew toy."

Zipper pouted, arms crossing as she stare blankly ahead, seeing nothing but a red mishappen shape she knew was Gardon. She'd discovered her royal flame a year back and with its help, Zipper learned that she could sense the natural body heat of everything around her. It took the form of reds, yellows and oranges usually, giving her a mild form of visual vision. It helped that her lack of sigh improved her sense of hearing, smell and touch. She'd developed a sort of radar vision, alert to everything much to bystanders' surprise.

"Certainly your father the king would agree," Gardon went on. "Princesses don't bite their subjects."

"Yeah but I'm teething!" Zipper lamented as she was put down.

Gardon only gave scoffed lightly.

Zipper pulled on the koala's arm. "When is Mother going to be back? I'm so bored!"

"You need to have more dignity princess," he scolded, pulling himself free to wag a finger at her.

Zipper curled her lip, stomping a foot. "I'm only three... sides, Daddy doesn't need dif... deeg... _deegitea_ ," she exclaimed.

"Dignity, your highness," he corrected her. "Your father is... an exception..." Gardon shuffled awkwardly, fur sounding ruffled as he drew a hand threw it.

"Oh? How come Gardy, ol' pal?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Zipper whirled around with an audible squeak to the direction of her father's voice.

"Your Highness! Um... ugh, you are back?" Gardon sounded entirely dumbstruck and meek, as if expecting to be chewed out by the hedgehog for his poor word choices.

"I'm only yanking your chain, Gardon. Also, it's just Sonic."

Zipper hurried toward her father quickly in a flash, pouncing up on all fours to be caught by the arms. "Dad! You're back! Did you bring me a present?"

Sonic swung her around and Zipper relished being held by her father. He smelled of the wind, fresh and earthy. "Hehe, sorry little Z, daddy was too busy kicking butt to remember." He put her down, ruffling her tuft of purpley fur. "Though your mom has a surprise for us both I hear. Got back since she said it was urgent."

"Urgent? How so?" Gardon asked, sounding very concerned.

"Eh, I have no clue. Just called me via dimensional phone saying I had to get here ASAP."

"Then it must be big... she never is one to take you from a mission..."

"My curiosity is at its peak, I'll admit!"

Zipper yawned rudely at the adults' conversation, earning a stern look from Gardon but a chuckle by her father.

"She is certainly yours, no doubt about that sir Sonic."

"I'd hope so!"

Zipper tugged at Sonic's hand eagerly. "Let's find Mother!" She demanded.

Gardon fixed his uniform, Zipper could tell by the ruffling of his clothing. "I don't mean to sound rude sir Sonic but could you please take your daughter back?"

Oblivious to the plea in his tone, all Zipper focused on was trying to get Sonic moving. She grabbed at his legs, his arms and quills, all in vain as the blue hedgehog was like a statue. It was normal for him, Zipper didn't phase him with her untamed energy.

"Sure, I relieve you from babysitting the royal furball, Gardon," he chuckled, sweeping an arm across his chest in a mock bow before lifting the princess into his arms. Zipper purred, pressing her head into his jaw lovingly.

Gardon sighed in relief, tipping his hat to the king respectfully before scurrying off, as if dreading Sonic would change his mind. Though not before pitifully trying to hide the broken vase under the rug with a sweep of his boot.

Sonic began making his way down the hall quickly, briskly checking every doorway for a place where his wife could be hiding.

"Say little Z, were you causing mischief for our good guy Gardon?"

Zipper stopped her ascertain toward her father's head, feet glued to his shoulder and being supported by one of his hands steadily pressed into her back. "No."

"I think the vase says differently!" He smirked.

"Well, maybe a itsy bit but Daddy, I had to! Gardon is always being boring!" The kitten lamented. "Mother was gone all morning!"

Sonic stopped running, causing Zipper to nearly fly forward but was caught skillfully by the said hedgehog. "You know where, Zipper?"

"Nope!"

"Oi! There ya blokes are! Thank heavens ya stopped for a bloody sec!"

Zipper peaked around her father's shoulder, spotting a familiar shape of warm energy. The accent helped and Zipper quickly climbed over Sonic like a mountain goat. Flying right over his head, she was quick to land in the frantic arms of Marine.

"Careful now ya ankle biter you!" Marine warned fondly, putting the squirming kitten down as to avoid her sand paper tongue. Zipper was a kisser sometimes in her zeal. "Good to see ya back Sonic, how was your trip?"

"Daddy didn't bring any presents!" Zipper exclaimed for him in reply, crossing her arms. "But he says Mother has one for us!"

Sonic nursed a bruise on his head from his offspring, smile taking half his mouth as he sigh. "Yeah, Blaze called me back earlier than planned."

Marine looked sneaky, chuckling into her gloved fist. "Aye, I've heard all ready from our girlfriend. In fact, she wanted to know what the heck was slowin' you down! Its a miracle you were here!"

Suspicion laced his eyes as Sonic peered at Marine. "Is that right? Anyhow, a distraction called Z-i-p-p-e-r came up."

Zipper cooked her head a bit, not sure what he was spelling but was mighty keen when she heard the letter Z.

"You'll be gettin' some... oh wait have to keep these babies sealed!" Marine drew her finger along her mouth as if closing a zip line, face flushing in mild embarrassment at her near slip.

"Aunt Marine! Daddy, you're the king, can't you order her to tell us?" Zipper mewled in demand, closing her hands around his arm.

"As king, sure but as a friend? Heck no!"

The raccoon looked satisfied before roughly patting Zipper on the head. "Listen 'ere baby, it's your mom's surprise to tell anyhow."

Zipper pouted. "I'd still act like I was surprised!"

"Yeah but you and your dad are horrible liars. Blaze would flay me like a fishy." Then she pushed the kitten forward before slapping Sonic on the back. "Also mista, Blazey is in your bedroom, only place ya didn't think to look!"

"Oh, hehe, guess that should have been obvious. Let's go see your mom, kiddo!" He said, scooping his daughter into his arms. Zipper wrapped herself close to his chest. "Also Marine, after I see Blaze I think it's best I talk to you about something."

"You bloke, ya won't be havin' any thoughts about that after Blaze," she informed him with a sly quirk to her lips. "Now git out of my sight!" She made a shooing gesture with her hands.

Arching a curious brow at the raccoon as she turn her back to him, he gave a grin before darting down the hall with the kitten. Sonic rounded a corner before finding the familiar grand staircase colored in golds and reds. For the average Joe it would have been a inconevacing two minutes lost going up but for Sonic it only took him less than a breath. The throne room greeted him at the top, it wasn't what he was looking for however despite knowing how comfortable the overly fancy chairs were.

Two hallways were in two different sides of it and taking a left, he saw the doorway to his and Blaze's room opened just the slightest. As if a signal for Sonic to enter, he did just that.

Zipper demanded that she be put down and Sonic complied. "Mother!" She cried happily, running across the room.

Blaze sat in a chair with a forgotten book splayed open on the arm to preserve the page. In a extravagant purple gown, her jewelry jingled as she moved to stand and welcome her into a literally warm embrace.

"How are you, my dear?"

"Where's the present?" The kitten blurted out, getting straight to the point.

"Zipper!" Sonic exclaimed, shaking his head as he crossed the threshold to be with his wife and daughter. "Have do idea where she gets it from..." He chuckled nervously at the pointed look Blaze gave him.

A knowing smirk graced her painted lips. "Yes, where ever did she..."

"So... how's it going honey?" Sonic was rewarded with a chaste kiss for his arrival once Blaze had let Zipper go. Blaze found her way into his out stretched arms, hands resting on his shoulders when they drew away from each other's faces. Zipper was glad to be blind at that moment, adults kissing was always an awkward ordeal.

"You might want to sit down dear," the cat woman warned, drawing herself free of Sonic's arms.

"I can handle anything you throw at me, Blaze!" He assured, cockily resting his arms on his hips. Zipper copied him, standing tall on her tippy toes.

"If you insist," she mused. "Now Zipper pay attention, we're going to need you to be a big girl and..."

Zipper cut her off noisily, losing her balance a moment. "I'm already a big girl Mother! I'm eating greens and nearly never spit 'em out now!"

Blaze held her still with her hands. "And for that I am very proud, my dear. But this is going to require more than just being able to eat everything on your plate."

Sonic seemed to realize where this was going and did finally take her advice about sitting down. He didn't say anything but the wide jaw dropping grin said enough for Blaze. He was speechless.

"Zipper, in a few months you'll be getting a little brother or sister. Your father and I will be very busy taking care of the new baby and the kingdom, do you understand?" Blaze tentatively tipped Zipper's head up, earning a confused look from the kitten.

"I... guess..." she mumbled, suddenly defused, muted with shock. _A new baby? But why mother?_ Her lower lip quivered. "Why?"

"Well... um... Zipper, things just... happen is all," Blaze uttered as casually as she could, clearing her throat to announce there would be no more questions concerning the 'why' and 'where' this new baby would be coming. "And that's why I need you to be a big girl."

If there was another thing she knew in the short three years of life she'd experienced, it was how the grownups liked to say she was not worth much because of her blindness. She was young but not stupid. Once upon a time ago, she'd heard what her mother called the council say that they hoped the queen would bear a more capable ruler.

_"Her blindness will be a downfall for us..."_

_"Yes, how can one who can't see lead a country? Let alone be able to flourish?"_

_"Hopefully a secondborn will follow, the queen's line had always been fruitful in the past."_

Zipper had been very offended, even going as far as to yell at them at the top of her tiny lungs before Sonic had happened to hear the confrontation. He'd pulled his daughter, kicking and screaming, away by hauling her over his shoulder. They'd sounded surprised she'd even been in hearing range, underestimating the kitten's other senses.

_"Definitely the queen's temper she has..."_

_"Yes but queen Blaze never lacked sight."_

Was this why her mother was suddenly going to be having a baby?

Blaze decided her daughter needed time to digest the news, it wasn't everyday one's life would be changed so drastically by a new coming baby. Instead she turned to her husband who was leaning back in the chair, arms behind his head as he look at her.

"So..." He drew out the drew as far as humanly possible "How long you've know honey?" Sonic finally inquired.

"About two months, I wanted to make sure before I needed to call you back. Felt it wasn't appropriate to tell you over the dimensional phone," Blaze remarked. "It'll be due not for awhile yet."

He exhaled loudly, almost breathless. "You know, it isn't as bad the second time."

Zipper began to shy away from the room, leaving her parents to discuss the new baby. She suddenly wasn't feeling so up. Though she vaguely heard from out the door her mother's response. "Oh yes, I remember when I told you about Zipper you'd fallen over, white as snow. After all, you are practically a giant child yourself."

A defiant _'hey!'_ went down the hallways of the castle after that.

* * *

The queen Blaze was in her bed chambers later in the evening after tucking Zipper into bed. As Marine had predicted, Sonic hadn't gone back to her to talk. Instead he'd stayed with his wife to spend time with her, the topic starting from his field trip back to his home dimension to help his old friends thwart Eggman like old times.

The old doctor had grown grayer over the years and still he was as lively as could be in his determination to conquer not just the world but even the Sol dimension. Even Nega had picked up the pace and with Silver's help the two were able to protect the home front so Sonic could keep up the battle with Eggman alongside his friends. It was still a dangerous world to raise a family in much to Blaze's dismay. When Zipper had been conceived it had been very quiet with no attacks for almost a decade but it all changed somewhere along the sixth month of pregnancy, he'd returned with a vengeance, Nega by his side and armies upon armies of robots. They'd started in Chaos dimension of Sonic's home world.

Of course, Sonic had been able to best the Eggmen as was expected with the help of old companions. Blaze hadn't been in the fight, neither she or Sonic were willing to risk their child. She was just too far along to be of use except to remain in the safe haven of the castle, offering a strong presence of leadership to her worried people. Silver had remained in her dimension alongside wife Amy Rose in case the dimensional barrier was broken.

The battle against the Eggmen's return only lasted a month thankfully but it'd been the longest month in Blaze's life, as she'd never been one to stay on the sidelines. Zipper had been her priority however.

She shook her head and returned to the present, seated in her chair as she face the fireplace made of stone. The bedroom had a extravagant hearth, large and offered plenty of warmth during the cold, dreary winter nights. Most of the day before her husband's return was been spent in the company of the Council much to her dismay, she'd left Zipper with Gardon as a result. They'd wanted to discuss her second child, a topic that they gobbled up the moment Blaze had announced her suspicions to them.

To her annoyance the common occurring theme was if this new offspring would bounce Zipper from inheriting the throne. The more old fashioned of the group had readily thrown in the cards, trying to insist that a blind heir was nothing good to come.

_"After all your majesty, how can she protect our country when she has to focus all her energy on just getting somewhere?"_ The old badger Frederick quipped sagely, sweeping his gaze around his audience. Some murmured their approval, the younger batch were silently peering at one another in question, not entirely sure of the fairness of the statement.

_"Indeed queen Blaze, I see sense in his words. You already struggle despite being capable."_ The graying eagle man peered at her in a silent challenge. _"It is unlikely Zipper's sibling will have a handicap to bar it from inheriting."_

This time without Sonic to keep her calm during these meetings, she made sure to give her council a piece of her mind for speaking such travesty against her daughter. Growling low in her throat the cat tried to keep flames from creeping out beneath her gown. _"Listen to yourselves speak down a child! My daughter to be precise! You used to say similar things of me to Fumus Impetus if I recall correctly..."_

Frederick seemed to have a relapse in his judgment for a moment at having been caught of hypocrisy. However it was gone away quickly. _"My queen, the difference between you and your daughter are that you were never blind. You also showed that you were able from a young age despite your curse, orphaned early. Zipper cannot be cured of blindness, it is not something that you can over come like your flames. She will always be **weak** , and we cannot have that be a representation of the kingdom."_

_"You can surely understand, your highness,"_ Another council member had said in agreement.

When the voices had picked up in tempo, Blaze had been all too relieved to be called away when Marine came barging rudely through the doors, as if sensing the disturbance. Marine had begun leading the naval forces some years ago, as such not even the council could truly ignore her coming much to the queen's relief.

_"Got a call from the sentries girly! Your hubby's on his way 'ere!"_

Blaze felt something tentatively bump her head, rousing her from her thoughts. Lifting her chin, she was nose-to-nose with a familiar blue character, two warm steaming cups in his hands.

"You holding up okay, hun?" Sonic inquired, Blaze made a motion with her hand to demand some personal space back for just a second, which Sonic complied by taking a big step back. "Thought I'd get us something from the kitchen, honey tea for you and steaming hot cocoa for yours truly!"

Grinning he'd offered her the smaller cup, which Blaze accepted by looping her fingers around the handle. "Ah, thank you dear."

"No probs, remembered it helped settle your stomach when you were carrying little Z around," he mused, taking a long gulp of his drink, leaning his chest against the back of her chair. "You ill or what? Been quiet for awhile now."

Blaze looked at her reflection in the cup, heaving a sigh. "I am not ill, just thinking is all." She let her tongue dip lightly into the warm liquid, dainty as a ballerina.

"Don't leave me hanging, please."

"I am worried about our daughter Sonic," Blaze remarked finally, frowning.

Sonic rested his chin on her shoulder, arms hanging over the back of the chair, cup casually balanced in his palm. Everything about him was cool and relaxed. "Zipper?"

"Yes Sonic, what other daughter do we have?"

"Possibly a second one baking in the oven but..."

Blaze shot him a peeved look, which rewarded her with a lazy, innocent grin on her husband's half. "Okay, okay, easy girl. Why so worried?"

"The council are being more adamant that Zipper can't inherit, Sonic," Blaze told him with venom to her voice.

He gave a big sigh, as if having been expecting that. "You still worry about what they think, honey?"

"We should be worried, they can hold power in numbers. Now they are saying we should be bumping Zipper from being future queen because of her blindness." Blaze suddenly didn't feel thirsty anymore and put her teacup on the end table nearby, leaving her seat to stand by the fireplace.

Sonic frowned at her back, watching the shadows dancing behind her. "They're a bunch of grumpy old farts, Blaze. They _still_ talk about me like I'm the plague, they'll come around if we keep showing how awesome our kid is. They tolerate me kind of now." Chuckling at his wife's scoff, Sonic put his cup down so he could wrap an arm comfortably over Blaze's shoulder.

"It bothers me though Sonic," she grunted. "Its been three years, three long years I've been fighting to keep them from disinheriting Zipper. Zipper isn't stupid about how they feel, the older she gets the more she'll begin to see what her blindness is condemning her to."

"She's functional Blaze, they'll see that as she gets older too," Sonic insisted, brushing his forehead with hers.

"I know but..."

He stopped her words with his finger, raising it to her lips. "Keep your faith strong. Let me ask you something. You believe in Zipper?"

"Of course I do!" Blaze replied without hesitation. "I refuse to let her be treated like I was as a kitten."

"Then that's all you and Zipper need then, Blaze."

She could not deny the wisdom to his words and nodded quietly to him. Sonic's grin reached his eyes with its familiar warm sheen, lips tugging upward before he leaned forward to brush his muzzle against her brow fondly. "Now stop getting your tail in a knot, its not healthy. Come on, better you finish that tea and get to bed. I know I'm starting to feel bushed myself."

"Alright," Blaze replied, smiling slowly as she returned to her seat to down the rest of the cup. Sonic too reached for his hot cocoa, the couple drinking in a more comfortable atmosphere.

Once they were finished Sonic set the empty cups aside for the servants to fetch before the couple dressed for bed. Blaze put the fireplace out with a snap of her fingers, thumb and index brushing together. Only a stream of smoke and embers remained behind the black fancy border that divided the fire from the room's wood floor. Sonic curled under the covers and awaited his wife to join him, arms behind his head and knee forming a mountain beneath the purple covers. Blaze joined him with a yawn, stretching before she settled beside Sonic, feeling him greedily suck the warmth of her body as he shuffled close to her back.

He rested his head near her shoulder, his breath tickling Blaze's neck. "I missed this, you know."

"Which part of _this_?" She mused, eyes closed with a purr, teasing softly.

"You know, just this," Sonic chuckled. "Us, together."

"Who knew you'd become so sentimental in your old age, dear," Blaze murmured sleepily, earning a snort of laughter she felt on her neck. "I was expecting something more... immature..."

"Hey, twenty seven is _not_ old!" A tired sound was all he got as a reply, Sonic's arm thrown loosely around her waist. "I'll talk about that wound tomorrow..." His words were a little whisper and he closed his eyes with a mumble. "Anyway, sweet dreams you two..."

* * *

_"Your majesties!"_ In the realm of dreams Blaze and Sonic were taken from by the fierce knocking on the door, the voice again calling out. "You must awake!" Sonic was very groggy, slapping his lips nosily as Blaze encouraged him to sit up by pulling his arms. The blanket tangled at their legs, it took effort to leave the bed.

"Coming!" Blaze called, tying her robe in a knot as she hurried across the room barefoot. Sonic stared blankly after her, blanket puddled around his waist at his lap. Blaze grabbed the doorknob and opened it quickly, peeking her head out to see the frantic face of Gardon. "Gardon? What is it?"

"Its... it Zipper, my queen," the koala uttered, taking his hat off to brush the sweat from his brow. Sonic was suddenly behind his wife, having hurried at the mention of his daughter. The tone of voice was not going to be related to anything good. "The servants went to check her room this morning and she's vanished!"

"Vanished?!" Blaze and Sonic echoed loudly, bewildered as they shared an astonished glance.

All the drowsiness disappeared from Sonic's face at once, the hedgehog hurrying passed his wife to go see for himself. Blaze swallowed, tense before she let out a breath, struggling to remain calm. "Have you checked the grounds Gardon?"

"Yes, your highness we have. I assembled the guard, we'd hoped to find her before you and the king awoke. We... failed," he said, shuffling uncomfortably as he look away from the worried mother. "I decided it was the best action to get you."

Sonic returned in a flash, looking grim as he stood behind Gardon. "She's not in her room, not even the castle Blaze."

"Gardon, spread your forces," Blaze ordered sternly. "Take it beyond the castle, check the village, check _anywhere_ you can reach! Sonic and I will join you shortly."

Gardon pressed his fingers to his temple and brow in a salute. "Yes ma'am!" Quickly he left the hedgehog and cat, dashing down the hall to return to his post.

Sonic followed after Blaze into their room, the cat moving briskly towards the closet to grab a pair of white pants and a flowing purple shirt. The hedgehog gave his wife privacy by turning his back to her, hearing the rustling of clothing as she dressed as fast she could. Sonic only began to find his shoes and strap them on. "She probably hasn't gotten far Blaze, she's never been very intone with her speed like us."

"It doesn't matter Sonic, she is a three year old little blind girl! Who knows where she is!" Panic crept into her tone, Blaze hurrying passed her husband once she was dressed. Her hair was down, Blaze having no time to bother wringing it into a ponytail. "We'll split up, alright? Take this also." Stopping dead, she turned to face Sonic, pressing a small communicator in his hand, forcing his fist around it. "I have one with me, we will call each other if Zipper is found."

"Got it," Sonic agreed, nodding his head as the two prepared to part ways. "Blaze, remember, don't get too worked up. It won't help Zipper or the new baby if you can't even think straight. Keep a level head." His smile was a bit waned, as he too had worries of the whereabouts of their single daughter. Sonic had always been able to keep balance of Blaze's more temperamental emotions, tending to either bottle them up or go completely out of whack.

She slayed a tentative palm on her belly, nodding. "I know Sonic."

Giving his wife a playful salute to try and calm the tense mood as he began to jog backward, he spun around and was gone. The strong gust of wind was the only remnant of him. Blaze began to shoot off in the opposite direction, as quick as she could. She didn't know where to look first but tried to trust in her mom sense to help find her missing baby girl.

She had to have faith after all.

* * *

Zipper could sense the Sol emeralds, it was with a heavy heart that she lacked what they looked like. Everything was merely darkness to her and Zipper only followed the strong aura they possessed, drawing her along with a invisible leash. Her mother had taken her to the chamber a few times before, as it was a familial duty to protect the sacred gems. Held by Blaze's hand, Zipper recalled her mother's words.

_"The Sol emeralds are very powerful Zipper. If you have all seven, a miracle happens. When you are older, it'll make more sense to you."_

_"Yeah,"_ Sonic's voice floated within her head. _"They're a lucky charm, little Z."_

"Miracles... lucky charms..." Zipper mumbled softly, feeling around with her hands on the stone alter as she climbed the steps. They were very large for her little legs but she was determined to reach the top. Eventually, she felt mostly air as she reached out, feeling the strong magic barrier the emeralds illuminated. Laying her palms flat, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, hello magic rocks."

There was only the unearthly hum droning in her ears from the stones. "I'm going to be a big sister soon Mother says and I was wondering if you could pretty please help me?"

_Silence..._

"Its not that I don't want a little sibling its just..."

Zipper took a deep breath. "I want to be able to see, then I could be a really good big sister and... and then the mean council wouldn't call me names anymore either."

_Silence..._

"Mother says you'll make miracles, couldn't you give me this just once please?"

She felt her stomach flip at the lack of response but what had the kitten been expecting? They were just stupid rocks... Zipper let her hands fall to her side and falling down on her rump, she sighed heavily, eyes feeling damp.

"Zipper?"

At first she felt shock, Zipper lifting her head toward the energy of the emeralds. "Magic rocks...?"

"Zipper! There you are!" Realizing the voice was coming from behind, Zipper rotated her head to see the familiar orange shape she associated as her mother. It hurried up the steps, arms wrapping around Zipper tightly as she was lifted up. "Why did you run off like that?" She demanded, fingers brushing through her daughter's short ponytail.

Zipper clung to her mother, sniffling into her shoulder. "The magic rocks didn't help me Mother..."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"The Sol emeralds..."

"Is that why you ran off?" Zipper felt her feet touch the ground and with a guilty conscious at the frantic tone of her mother, Zipper nodded meekly. Blaze wanted answers. Her voice grew gentler. "Zipper, what were you trying to accomplish by coming here? Its so far from the castle..."

"I thought... if I asked them they'd... I could maybe see," Zipper confessed, blank eyes lifting toward Blaze. "Then maybe... I could be a better big sister and daughter... You said they could grant wishes Mother..."

Blaze grabbed Zipper by the chin with dainty fingers, tipping it up so the cat could brush their muzzles together in a nuzzle. "Darling, you don't need to see to be any of those things. You're already so wonderful."

"Even if I am gonna be the downfall of the kingdom, Mother?" Zipper inquired softly.

Blaze stiffened momentarily before she held her daughter's shoulders tightly. "You listen to me, Zipper. The council is utterly wrong about you, okay? They're a bunch of bullies like your daddy says, old farts with nothing better to do than nag all day. Just because we're having this baby doesn't mean we don't love you just as much. I was worried too, my girl, its probably why I didn't take as much notice to your fear right away."

Embracing her kitten again, Zipper felt secure in her mother's arms. "Its okay Mother..."

"No its not and I plan to make sure I keep you a priority from now on, more so than I have because of the stuffy council." Blaze breathed in deeply. "Your father will be relieved knowing you are safe."

"Daddy worries?"

"Oh yes, especially when it comes to the little people like you Zipper. Its why he goes away so much." She pressed her hand into Zipper's cheek, the kitten purring. Zipper heard her mother click something and suddenly, there was a soft buzzing of static. "Sonic, I found her. Tell Gardon he can stop the search, I will be bringing her back to the castle."

_"That's great, Blaze. Hey little Z, can you hear me? Daddy loves you, there'll be blueberry pancakes for sure, I swear."_ There was a chuckle and Zipper smiled. _"Most exciting two days home in awhile. I'll see you home!"_

Blaze pocketed the device before holding her daughter's hands. "Do you have any more questions, Zipper?"

"Yeah... um... where is my new sibling coming from?"

"Ah... well... erm... you know, you'll figure it out in six months time, I promise."


	17. Blood

Blaze spent the day with her favorite little bunny, Cream wanting to go kite flying. So with Vanilla's blessing for a good time, the two went to a wide open field not too far away from the house. With clear blue skies for miles it seemed the perfect opportunity to fly a kite. Only a lone tree stood at the very top of the sloping hill and just their luck the kite managed to get tangled on its branches.

In dismay of the situation, Blaze and Cream stared moony eyed at the kite. Cream slumped her shoulders, long ears drooping by her feet.

"Aw, that's my favorite one too..." Cream lamented, turning towards the cat. Blaze brushed the back of the doe's head in sympathy. Cheese the chao was laying belly flat between her ears in defeat.

"Couldn't you fly up and fetch it Cream?" She inquired to the rabbit.

"I could but after all the bad winds this week..." As if in response, a powerful gust of wind ripped through the meadow, already threatening to throw Blaze and Cream over. "I scrapped my knee last time I tried. So mom grounded me... um... to the ground."

"Chao!" Cheese chimed glumly in agreement.

Blaze swerved her ears about in discomfort, feeling two large beseeching eyes upon her person. Even without words she just knew what Cream and Cheese wanted from her.

Sighing quietly and a sucker for the rabbit girl's happiness, she began to make her way toward the very large sycamore.

"Why do I feel I am going to regret this..." Blaze grumbled under her breath, hitching her foot up to make the climb.

A sequence of horrible pain followed barely five minutes later as Blaze plummeted from a height that could be compared to the average two story domestic house...

"Oh my gosh Blaze! I didn't know a leg could twist like that!" Cream exclaimed in a mixture of morbid awe and worry as she help Blaze back to the house, supporting the limping feline.

Blaze felt tears of pain swell in her golden eyes. "Yea... neither did I... Ow!" Her knee was growing red from where her white pants were saunching the bleeding. The entire leg felt like one giant bruise from how she landed.

"Don't worry Blaze! I'll nurse you back to health!" The rabbit informed her sweetly, patting her back gently. It roused a groan of hurt and Cream sheepishly withdrew her palm. "Heh, oops..."

The familiar light orange house of Cream came over the horizon, Blaze struggled up the steps. Cream's little legs quivered at the added weight of the injured female and she hollered out for her mother Vanilla.

"Mommy! We're home!"

"Already? I thought you wouldn't be back until sup... oh my, what do we have here?" The elder of the two rabbits peeked out from the hallway, wiping her palms with a fluffy towel.

"Blaze had an accident, mommy," Cream quipped guiltily, eying Blaze's knee.

PVanilla put the towel over her arm and hurried toward the two girls. "That is a nasty cut honey, guess this means I get two patients to take care of." She smiled tenderly with that of a mother's warmth.

Blaze blinked quickly. "Two Mrs. Vanilla?"

"Yes, Sonic just stopped over a little while ago. He ran out of things for his first aid kit," Vanilla replied, by now taking control over handling Blaze. Cream scampered after after depositing the kite in her other arm in the hallway closet. "So he came to see me for help."

Cream gaped widely, fists balling near her maw. "Oh no, was it robots?"

Blaze flicked an ear absently, skeptical. "No ordinary robots hurt Sonic, perhaps it was Eggman's dastardly Metal..."

The mother rabbit chuckled loudly as she lead them into the kitchen. "No, not any of those things kids. Sonic just cut his finger badly cooking is all."

"Way to would my pride further, mama V," sighed someone in response, Blaze turned to see where the voice came from. Sitting on the kitchen counter was the blue streak himself, one glove missing in favor of a brightly colored flowery bandage around his index and palm. He grinned despite it all in good humor. "Youch Blaze, what in the name of Chaos happened to you?"

Blaze let herself be pushed seated into one of the wood chairs by the island. "I just had a mishap is all..." The cat replied smoothly, resisting the urge to yelp in pain as Vanilla gingerly rolled up her pant leg.

"Cream be a dear and fetch the kit from the bathroom," Vanilla told her daughter. "Sonic, distract Blaze please, I see there is dirt to clean out."

"Of course mom!" Quickly Cream hopped away in the stereotypical rabbit fashion, Cheese clinging to one of her long flowing ears with its tiny mits.

Sonic shoved his butt off the counter to do what Vanilla told him, walking quickly over to Blaze's side. "Okay so there's thirty cows in a field and twenty eight chickens, how many didn't?"

"What sort of foolish question is that?" The royal feline demanded snootily, arching her brows high at Sonic. "It makes zero... gah!" She jerked her knee away from Vanilla instinctively, palms covering over the ugly wound.

Vanilla looked very much the scolding house mother as she stare Blaze down, hands on her hips with a wash cloth gripped between her fingers. "Blaze, hold still, we can't have that getting infected dear!"

Blaze curled her lip into a small snarl, a faint whimper in her throat. "Its... it's fine!"

By now Cream had returned with the first aid kit, a white box with the familiar insignia of a red cross. She looked between her mother and Blaze as the two females had a stare down. It was very similar to how a mother was to rope her rowdy teen with daggers for eyes. Sonic suddenly clapped his hands obnoxiously between Blaze and Vanilla, drawing their attention to himself.

He'd winced suddenly as he remembered that he had a cut. "C'mon ladies, there's gotta be a more civilized way to handle this. Like Blaze deciding she doesn't want to lose her leg." Grinning at her, Blaze scoffed.

"Just give me the cloth please," Blaze told the mother rabbit, it earned her a scolding look. "What?"

"My house Blaze, my rules. Besides, you are clearly shaking from the shock of your fall still dear," she said, nodding to the feline's quivering hands as they gripped the arms.

Blaze pulled her ears back. "But Vanilla..."

"No buts, my girl. Give me that leg now."

"Blaze, mommy can be scary if she's mad..." Cream whispered into her friend's ear as she stood on her tippy toes. "It won't be so bad, I didn't cry once when I got my knee scraped."

"I do not cry..." Hissing when Vanilla suddenly pulled her leg back into her possession, she closed her eyes tightly.

"Oh my... that is a deep cut. Just what kind of accident was this?" Vanilla inquired curiously, running the rag over her knee.

"Yeah Blaze, humor us," Sonic insisted smugly.

"I..."

"It was a tree, mommy. Blaze climbed that big sycamore and suddenly the wind just sent her all the way down!" Cream blurted out quickly, the room growing silent before Sonic whistled.

"You're scared of heights, how in the heck did you willingly climb up a tree?" Sonic bemused, scratching his head.

Blaze was blushing red, embarrassed and in pain. "Our kite got stuck okay?" She puffed her cheeks out. "At least I didn't chop my fingers off cooking!"

"Hey, it was a complicated soup, you know!" Sonic countered, poking her shoulder with his index finger.

Blaze nipped at it, earning a yelp from the hedgehog. "Ow! Wounded hand you grumpy cat!"

Vanilla lightly jabbed Blaze in the knee, causing her to inhale loudly and grow silently as she whimper. "Children that is enough!"

"Yes Mrs. Vanilla..." Both hedgehog and cat said in unison, voices low and shameful of the unnecessary quarreling.

"Good, now I need to finish getting all the grime from this cut. I think your foot is twisted oddly..." Vanilla began to slide Blaze's boot off, the furry socks slipping off after.

Sonic gaped a little at it and Cream dropped the kit off in shock, turning a light green color. Vanilla looked at her daughter. "Cream, baby, I think I saw some tasty raspberries outside this morning. Mind picking them so I can make us a pie for our lovely patients?"

Cream nodded quickly and rushed out the door with her blue chao Cheese, knowing that a basket for berry picking would be in the outside shed.

"This is going to hurt a lot, dear..." Vanilla said quietly once Cream was gone. "It'll be quick."

"Mrs. Vanilla I can..."

She began to feel a sharp wave of pain come over her and before she could screech bloody murder and swear like a sailor, Sonic quickly intervened in his usual quirky, unnecessary and impulsive way. It was a new distraction Blaze had never been subjected to but the shock of it was enough to stop her from accidentally kicking Vanilla in the face as she put her foot back into place.

It was over quickly, Blaze was seeing stars of both kind as Sonic lifted his mouth from hers. Both their cheeks were dusted a nice red and Sonic grin in a cool fashion, acting as if nothing of the sort occurred.

"Say, wasn't so bad eh?" He asked, giving the cat her space as Vanilla finally began to use the peroxide on the wounds, wrapping bandaging over her bloody knee. "Just a prick and it's over."

Blaze mutely stared at him, only roused out of her daze when Vanilla spoke up. "All clean, your foot is all good now. Let me find you new clothes so I can wash and patch those poor threads up." She smiled and gathered the kit up, walking out of the kitchen.

The female suddenly sputtered furiously, "What in the world was that for?!" Steam practically floated out her pointed ears and nose, fighting the blush warming it's way up her neck.

"What was what for?" The hedgehog asked casually, Sonic grinned cheerily as he played the oblivious card.

"This!" She puckered her lips out at him for emphasis, pointing at herself.

"Oh, you mean that!" He leaned forward boldly, Blaze leaning back in her chair with wide eyes.

Would he really...?! Awkwardly she stared at him, clutching the base of her chair. Part of her hoped shamelessly he would ignite the foreign contact again, the other wanted to completely melt into the floor whilst she sizzled red from terminal embarrassment.

In the end after mercilessly drawing the tension out, he only playfully blew wind in her face through his parted mouth. "To be perfectly honest... seemed like a good idea at the moment. Either that or gag you with a sock. I think the former was more awesome." Grinning, he earned a hard slap to the jaw, sending him reeling in shock.

Blaze crossed her arms, fur along her neck bristling. "You big blue jerk!"

"Totally worth it. Ow... though I think my pride died from that shot." Nursing a bruise with his hand, Sonic straightened up with a wiggle of his nose.

"Kiss me just to placate me! I can't believe you!"

"Hey, hey... you're being too hasty," Sonic said, pinning an ear nervously. "Not just that."

Giving him the stink eye from golden slits, Blaze scoffed, "Please, you basically said that just a second ago!"

"I'm not good at this mushy stuff, Blaze, I'm not about to drop on one knee here," he exclaimed, palm still cradling his chin. "I like the more bold approach anyway. Less words, more meaning."

"I should burn you to a crisp for toying with my emotions like that, Sonic," Blaze growled furiously. "Wait a second... more meaning?"

"Yeah, I care about you. That kind of stuff." Shrugging casually at the sudden transformation of anger into pure confusion, he went up to her knowing the cat wouldn't try knocking his teeth out at this very moment. "Probably bad timing but I saw a chance so I took it."

"For one so open you are annoyingly obscure," the royal grunted, looking at his amused face.

"Keeps everyone guessing," he chuckled, winking. Blaze cleared her throat awkwardly with her knuckles pressed against her lips.

"In the future, don't express how much you care about me until there is a prompt confession following," Blaze expressed in a calm tone despite the rapid hammering of her heart. "I'll give you the same." Looking away she heard the sheepishly chuckle of Sonic.

"Was that basically a ' _I like you_ ' Blaze on your half?"

"I don't know, was that what that _kiss_ of yours was?" She countered.

"Could be, could not be," he smugly drone out, Blaze could see that smart alec smirk on his maw. "Gonna tell me or what?"

Before Blaze could reply, the dimensional duo were interrupted by a meek little voice. Cream was peeking from around the corner, basket clutched between her fingers and Cheese munching on a raspberry as he made himself comfortable in there. "Um... I'm back. Blaze, are you okay?"

"Yo Cream, that was fast," Sonic mused, looking at her with a small grin.

"I wanted to make sure Blaze was fine, Mr. Sonic," the rabbit replied, shuffling into the room, dropping the basket lightly by the counter. Cream hurried over to Blaze, who patted her on the head softly. "So I was quick..."

"I'm fine Cream, really," the cat hummed.

Tears threatened to burst from her milky brown eyes, so wide open with sheer innocent guilt. "I'm sorry Blaze," she squeaked out, clinging to the purple fabric of Blaze's shirt. "I wish you hadn't gotten hurt because of me. It was a lousy kite anyway!" Cheese roused himself from the basket with a red-stained face from the berries to flutter over to Cream. Hovering near her head, the chao nosed her cheek softly, frowning at her distress.

Sonic and Blaze stared at her in muted shock, the cat feeling Cream trembling when Blaze folded her arms over the rabbit's thin frame. "Oh Cream... it's just a little blood. Don't worry about it so much."

"Yeah kiddo, a little blood never hurt anyone. Look at me, I'm good even if I made my hand chop suey!" Sonic added assuringly. "Battle scars build character!"

Blaze dipped her chin gently in agreement, using her palms to incline the doe's face up to look at her. "I don't want you crying over this anymore, you hear?"

The fawn colored rabbit gave a series of sniffles as she hid her little black nose in her arm. Blinking rapidly to fight off tears, she looked between Blaze and Sonic. "Okay," she chimed once she recovered, beaming as if she'd never shed a tear.

"That a girl!" Sonic cheered, clasping his hand on her shoulder before tensing sharply, a forced grin on his mouth. Hitching a breath as he lifted his palm, he chuckled ruefully, "I keep forgetting that..

"Blaze, my dear, I found a dress. Come with me, I'll need to start fixing up your clothes," Vanilla said, brandishing a floral pattern sun dress. It was modest but it was far from the cat's taste in wardrobe. Then the woman paled, remembering Blaze could not exactly move on her own, given the questioning look the teenage queen pointed at her. "Sonic, mind helping her to the washroom?"

Blaze balked and squinted her eyes at a smug Sonic who'd already began to playfully reach for her. "Oh no you don't hedgehog! I'm not going to play the damsel here!"

"Alright," the cobalt hedgehog replied leisurely, stepping back with his arms raised innocently over his head. "I wasn't doing anything anyway," Sonic gleefully dragged out.

Cream let herself out of Blaze's arms with a wiggle, giving her the space she needed to stand. Blaze shot Sonic a proud, snooty, look as she began to get up. Sonic only grin at her, shrugging idly as the cat began to make her way across the room. Suddenly she felt something rush up behind her and with a shrill yelp of surprise, Sonic catapulted them passed Vanilla. She clung to him and hissed, earning only a wink before he set her down outside the door to the washroom. Barely a second it took him with his speed, Sonic took his punishment without complaint as Blaze swatted his face with her fluffy tail.

"...make a royal fool of me will you..." he heard her grumble under her breath, Vanilla appearing behind him. She limped off with all the dignity a queen could only possess, or so what she could manage to scrap what was left of, that is.

"She likes you Sonic, you know," the mother rabbit hummed, chuckling.

"Yeah?" He only hummed, pretending to be the one behind on the statement. "I would have never guessed that mama V."

"Oh you cheeky thing you," Vanilla sighed, shaking her head with a smile as she shuffle pass the hedgehog to pursue Blaze. "Blaze, here's the dress!" He heard her say from behind the door once it close shut behind her. Sonic waited for the girls to finish, offering privacy as he pace along the hall, arms strung lazily behind his spiky head.

It was the sound of a knob twisting that roused his attention, the hedgehog turning his head leisurely. Grinning he gave a shrill whistle which roused a glower from Blaze who stood in the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak and Blaze pointed her finger at him with a low hiss.

"Not. Another. Word."

His grin spread wider and with a loud intake of breath, Sonic unwisely ignored the loud stomping of Blaze's foot and the scent of smoke. "You..."

"Don't...!"

"...Look..."

"Sonic, I swear to Sol...!"

"...So utterly..."

Even Vanilla held a hand to her mouth at the audacity of the hedgehog who continued before he finally finished in one unfiltered declaration.

" _Adorable!"_ With loud guffaws, he leaned back into the wall with his arms wrapped around his torso as Blaze shamefully hid her face in her clenched fists. A sound of annoyance that really did sound akin to a cat being strangled came forth from her throat. In the all too sunnyfied dress covered in overly done floral patterns and a rose sash around her waist, Blaze could only fight the urge to not beat the pulp out of him.

After all, enough blood had been drawn in too many embarrassingly ways today. Right now, she decided she would need some extra bandages to deal with the scars.


	18. Rainbow

He watched over the kingdom from where he stood on the hill, still registering what had happened over the course of just a few days. Somehow, it all didn't feel real despite the fact he'd gone through it all himself. With how many adventures he had notched to his belt, it was a wonder this one was some of the few that left him shaking his head in a disbelieved fashion. It would be difficult to forget such a journey, one of the sword and knighthood.

Oh well, it would all be over soon. His place in the story would be wrapping up very soon once Merlina finalized the spell to send him back home to the real world. He wanted to leave Camelot in a safe place before finally taking his leave. He'd been elected the new king in the wake of Arthur's reveal as nothing more than a fake created by the great wizard Merlin. In his contemplative state he didn't hear the sounds of footsteps approaching him from behind.

"I believe you have stepped into your role as king quite swimmingly, Sir Sonic," a refined voice said from behind. He cocked his ears in surprise before turning to face the source of the intrusion, finding the armor clad figure of lady Percival kneeling in respect before him.

He couldn't help but rub at his neck in embarrassment, not too keen on the special treatment the knights insisted on bestowing upon him. Even the proud Lancelot would admit to having been cowed by the blue hedgehog, a thing he no longer found to be of shame. At least, that's what Percival would tell him when the feline would join him in sparring. Though he was now a king and there was no danger left to face, the feline was adamant he keep on his toes.

"Percival its not necessary," he told him, waving a hand at her absently in a gesture to raise. "We're all friends here, you don't need to do that."

A light patter of rain from the clouds above made her silvery armor clink more than usual as she stood at full height. "I am still not used to that," Percival admitted, walking forward to join Sonic as his side. "...being a friend rather than a servant, that is," she added, smiling towards him. He returned it.

"You guys deserve as much respect as you give me," Sonic said to her, making Percival look thoughtful. "I mean, all I did was yank a over sized letter opener out of the ground."

That brought a soft laugh from his companion, Percival regarding him with open warmth. "I suppose that is true. You know, you have brought much inspiration within Camelot's people. I can't deny that it is quite infectious, even I feel it within my bones. We are deeply within your debt, Sir Sonic."

There was silence suddenly as he look at Percival. She turned her golden stare away to face the sky, letting the rain catch against her eyelashes. Sonic could tell there was something more she wanted to discuss with him. He reached a hand out to clasp it upon her shoulder, feeling the texture of cool metal even from beneath his gloves.

"Something else you wanna talk about, Percival?"

She didn't turn to face him for several moments, when she did, it was slowly. "What will become of this kingdom once you are to leave it, Sir Sonic?"

Sonic felt melancholy fall upon him, remembering what it was Merlina told him. "Lancelot and Gawain's rift shall doom the Round Table. Arthur is struck down by his son Mordred and departs for Avalon..." Sonic held his tongue as he found the right words to tell the worried knight. He couldn't tell her what the future would hold if he remain here within the legends of Camelot. It would bring ruin to the kingdom, and that was only the few things Merlina had told him concerning the land. There was much, much more pain to follow. If he could spare them from such tragedy, Sonic was willing to do what he could to protect his newfound friends from such a fate. "It'll be just fine, I promise. I'm not gonna leave it with unfinished business I still gotta fix."

The response seemed to quell Percival ever so slight, as she relaxed her stiff shoulders. Her tail gave a nervous flick. "And who shall rule it? Caliburn chose you."

"Well, Caliburn might have picked me out but... I think as a king I got the bigger say in the end who gets to take over for me." He gave her a grin to reassure her, one she hesitantly returned. "I think I'm looking right at her too."

Surprise splashed its way onto her face, the knight backing away from him to gauge his expression, to see if he were really serious. She clenched her eyes shut, sighing deeply to calm herself before once again regarding him. Sonic gave her the time she needed to digest this information. "You cannot be serious."

"Oh? Do I surely 'jest', madame?" He raised his head cockily, challenging her.

"You must be! I can't lead a kingdom!"

"You lead Lancelot and Gawain pretty well if you were to ask me." Sonic stepped away a moment, shrugging his shoulders casually. He had his back to her, Percival's eyes bore down against the back of his head like fire itself. He was promptly reminded of a certain someone, an aspect that had influenced his choice of electing Percival regent in his stead.

"Sonic," she said, exasperated. He was a touch stunned she'd dropped the formal 'sir' she was always insistent on using with him. "Leading the Knights of the Round Table is not the same as leading a entire kingdom. There is more at stake, more things to fail, more things to..."

"You are thinking too much into this," Sonic interjected, now turning back to face the lavender cat. She seemed almost offended that he say such a thing, causing the fur along her neck to stand up.

Her mouth was set into a firm line. "Perhaps you are not thinking enough. Running a kingdom is not a game you play with your friends, its real."

Sonic sighed at the amount of negativity smoking its way quite literally out of her. "You think I don't know that, Percival? Its why I believe you'll be the best person for the job."

She stared him down, brows furrowed close to her eyes to the point Sonic could see the muscles bunching up there. He didn't back down, his stance relaxed and calm in the wake of her uncertainty. Eventually, she let herself soften to his will, bowing her head with a sigh, expelling the last of her stress from her lean body. "I shall place my faith in your choice, sir Sonic. I... I will do the best I can to not let you down."

He was in front of her before she knew it, feeling his hand touch her arm tentatively. "That's all I ask out of you, I know you'll be just fine."

Percival let herself smile a little at him. "You are certainly something, what exactly, I do not know but... I feel it is something good."

Sonic rubbed his finger under his nose in a modest fashion, turning away ever so slightly away from her. Eyes shut, he chuckle. "You're going to make this king blush." A wind blew itself through the hillside, brushing the grass like hair. The lone tree behind them rustled its leaves. Eventually he knew it was time to go back to the castle, there were still things he needed to wrap up for this kingdom before the departure date would come.

"I better get back to the castle, you coming?"

"No... I'd like some time to be alone, to think..."

"Alright, I'll catch you later then, Percival."

When he began making his way down the green hillside, Percival stopped him. He turned back to her, seeing her hand out stretched towards him. "When you leave this place... do you think we will ever see you again?"

The words brought forth a nostalgia in him Percival wouldn't understand. Sonic reached his hand out to take hers, shaking it slowly. It left the feline confused as she stare at their interlocked hands as if they were foreign. "I don't believe goodbyes are forever, I mean, life is way too expensive and wild. Where there's one ending, there's always a beginning. Least, that's the way I see it. Just hold onto again, Percy. That's all you gotta do." His grin was tender, softly beaming at her. With that, he let go of her hand to continue his way back to the castle. He didn't look back.

Percival glanced away from him to look towards the sky, where the rain had cleared and there spread above them was a rainbow. Perhaps he was right...


	19. Gray

The ocean waves glittered like a freshly polished diamond under the intense summer sun. It was a beautiful day, fluffy white clouds rolling over head. The wind was warm and breezy, perfect for a romp in the sand and sea...

...least all but for one who stood on the side lines, feeling like a grouchy mother watching her offspring misbehave in a market.

"Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!" He broke away from where he stood at her side in a single bound, a towel and radio carried snug in one arm. His feet barely touched the ground. Sonic pulled the sunglasses hanging at his ears over his eyes, whooping the entire way

"Okay! We'll see who the rotten one here is, bloke!" The raccoon kit yelled back, stumbling after him with all the grace of a walrus with two left feet. A big beach ball hid most of her face.

"Sonic, don't encourage her!" Her words fell up on deaf ears as both hedgehog and raccoon ran eagerly along the sandy path towards the beach. Her ears gave an aggravated flick from where she stood, watching Sonic and Marine go.

There was work to be done yet these two were off frolicking about rather than doing what was necessary. They were supposed to be hunting down Chaos emeralds to help return Sonic to his home dimension, however the thrill of a beautiful day proved to be too strong a pull for Sonic. Perhaps she should have remained with the fox cub Tails, at least he was keeping busy hands as he work on gadgets to help ease their strife.

Then again, it was his suggestion that lead Sonic and Marine here fooling around. Saying they couldn't do much until he finished fixing the tracking device for Chaos Energy, that there was no point having them crowd the hut up when there was no real way they could help. Sonic was more than eager to ditch the idea of lazing around doing nothing, Marine quickly vouched the plan. With two wide eyed pleadful faces more akin to puppies staring her down, Blaze reluctantly agreed. She tagged along to make sure nothing happened, Blaze wasn't one to ever put her guard down.

Sonic quickly flicked on the tunes from the radio and threw his towel on the sand, flopping down comfortably to enjoy the sunny scenery. However it was short lived when Marine threw herself onto his stomach, landing so hard the air was knocked out of him. Marine proceeded to chase after her ball into the ocean, paying no mind to the poor hedgehog curled up in the feedle position.

Blaze's shadow fell over him as she made sure the youngster hadn't just put him into a early grave.

"I'm okay!" He squeaked in breathless agony.

"Perhaps it would be wiser to remove yourself from Marine's war path, Sonic," she mused, watching as the said child kicked her ball around the shore line.

"That was a fluke, she won't get me again. I got eyes and ears like a - "

_"Twenty points and the crowd goes wild!"_ Blaze easily had stepped away from the beach ball, Sonic though found the entire side of his blue face stuck in the sand. Marine scampered right by, yelling excitedly as she play. "Who's the rotten one now?!" She could see an annoyed green eye follow Marine before it settled on the smirking feline above him.

"Not a word," he huffed slowly, as if Blaze were a small child with little understanding, sitting up to dislodge sand out of his ears.

"Of course," she humored him, still quirking her lips.

Sonic was on his feet, stretching leisurely once the humiliation wore off. His pride wasn't damaged for long. "Man, what a beautiful day."

Blaze gave the beautiful overcast barely a glance. "You've seen one sunny day, you've seen them all Sonic," she said, hardly sharing the sentiments.

He pouted his lips. "Okay wow, remind me to help fix that pessimism of yours before I go home."

She scoffed at him, arms crossed along her chest. "I am not as such," Blaze defended herself, glancing away to keep an eye on Marine in the distance.

She could hear him snort to repress a laugh, turning to regard him with a glower. He was grinning, teeth subtly exposed. "What?"

"You are ridiculous," the feline remarked at him, dropping her arms and walking away from him. Sonic though wasn't going to let the topic go as he followed after her.

"Blazeeeee! C'mon, you don't need to be so serious all the time."

She ignored him, much to his displeasure.

"I know you can be tons of fun."

"Is that all you ever think about, Sonic?" She asked, exasperated.

Sonic boldly stretched his arm out to loop it over her shoulders, tugging the royal against his side in a friendly fashion. "Breathe in that wonderful fresh air! Feel the sun in your fur! The seagulls squawking!" He continued to lead her along, gesturing about to add to his examples. "Isn't it great?"

Blaze though only stared at him like he were speaking gibberish. "I... suppose? Sonic, as wonderful a day as you claim it is to be, shouldn't you be more focused on how to get home?"

"Don't put a overcast in my skies, Blaze," Sonic told her, giving her a light look of scolding. "We got plenty of time. The Jeweled Sceptre is safe, you got your Sol emeralds back in their shrine and that clown Whisker has gone sayonara. One beach day isn't going to mess things up."

She wiggled free of her friend's arm, straightening up. "Its not like I want to see you go, I just have a bad feeling."

"World gonna end bad or I just ate a huge plate of spicy chili dogs bad?"

Blaze was struck silent a moment at his choice of words, causing her to shake her head. "I just know it's bad, we should be making haste finding your emerald set."

Before Sonic could get a response in, a certain object of impending doom was shot their way. Blaze was pulled sharply to the side by Sonic who shot a peeved glare towards it's source. Marine came running passed, skidding to a halt at the very parental stares the cat and hedgehog were giving her.

"What? I got something on my face?"

"Watch it with that thing!" Blaze scolded the kit, staring her down with stern molten eyes.

"Sheila, it's called a ball! Oi, speakin' of which... where it go?" Marine rapidly swung her head to and fro looking for her large ball, it was nowhere in sight. "Look what ya made me do! It's gone!"

"Me?!" Blaze gaped at the audacity of the tone, she was ready to put Marine in her place when Sonic stopped her. He touched her shoulder with his hand, silencing her.

"Marine, you look over there, Blaze and me will look over there. Your ball couldn't have gone far," Sonic reassured her, tugging Blaze along to search the spot he specified for them. Marine hurried to her corner of the shore.

Blaze was bristling though, glaring at her blue dimensional counterpart. "I say she should look for that thing herself."

"She's just a kid, Blaze. Little kids got more fire than even you got sometimes.'

"I never spoke with that kind of tone to anyone of my elders before," the cat hissed.

Sonic couldn't help but playfully elbow her in the side. "Yeah, okay, if you say so golden child. Anyway, we got a ball to find."

The hedgehog broke away from Blaze's side, leaving the royal to search out her own corner of the shore. Tropical fronds spotted about in clusters, leading to what was a small forest if she decided to go any farther. She however saw no ball hiding among the ferns and rocks but something else of a rotund nature.

It was a dove gray and relatively big in how long it was, an oval rather than a circle like Marine's wayward ball. What was left of her irritation that after noon ebbed away into puzzlement as she gave it a gentle nudge. She realized it wasn't a stone but an egg. What kind of egg, she hadn't the slightest clue. Blaze turned and promptly called for Sonic, knowing when it came to the strange the blue blur always knew what to do.

"Sonic! You need to come see this!" Sonic popped out from the bushes behind her not long after, leaves and twigs caught to his quills.

"What is it?"

Blaze stepped aside and gestured for the hedgehog to come closer. He did so curiously, peering through the large palm leaves once Blaze parted them for him.

"Just what is that?"

"Looks like an egg," Sonic mused, reaching to pick it up in his arms. He began to look it over in all directions, rotating it. Blaze looked on with saucer like eyes.

"Well, yes, I knew that part but should we really be touching it?"

Sonic glanced at her. "If anything owns this egg I think they've been gone a long time. Feel it." He brandished the large egg for her, letting Blaze splay her palm on it. She scrunched her brows in concentration.

"It's cold," Blaze summarized softly, letting her hand drop.

"Yeah so we better get this back to the hut. Here, I want you to hold it."

Blaze took a nervous step back from his outstretched hands. "Me? Surely not, I could break it or accidently cook it alive or... or..." She had little more to argue as Sonic only deposited the precious cargo into her arms. "Sonic..."

"You're a walking fire pit, Blaze. You are the best bet this egg has." He smiled at her to lend her confidence but Blaze hardly felt it as she follow after Sonic.

Marine didn't care much for her lost ball anymore when her two friends came out with the egg, instead eagerly she bounced along at their sides, peeking at the oval gray object.

"Maybe we should sit on it," Marine suggested

"Sit on it? I don't think any of our prosteriers would fit upon it!" Blaze retorted.

Sonic sniggered at the the imagery as they returned to the hut. Tails was surprised to see the three return so soon, turning around in his chair to greet his friends.

"Oh, hey guys. You're back early, guess the beach wasn't as fun as you thought?" The golden cub mused.

Sonic nudged Blaze forward, letting Tails see what she was hiding in her arms. He looked at it with wide eyes, quickly leaving his work space to check out the egg.

"What do you think this egg is, Tails?" Blaze asked, letting Tails take the egg a moment. He gave it a look over very similarly to Sonic's inspection, making curious humming noises as he did so.

"Wow! Who would have guessed!" Tails exclaimed, smiling up at the confused feline. Sonic already had a hunch what his little buddy was going to say, so he made a gesture for Tails to carry on. "Its a chao. I didn't think you guys would have them here too. Poor little fella is really cold though..."

Blaze pinned her ears in concern. Marine quickly shoved her way between the hedgehog and cat to look at the egg in aghast. "You mean it's gonna die? We can't let the bloke die, Tails!" The raccoon kit cried out.

"I'll draw some plans for an incubator! Blaze, Sonic, keep it warm!" Tails promptly deposited the egg back into Blaze's care, leaving it back in her unsure care.

"Um, alright Tails but please be quick," Blaze stuttered, holding the large egg to herself. The fox cub rocketed out the door, needing supplies from the market in the village. Marine hurried after him, declaring she wanted to help Tails save the baby inside the egg.

"Blaze, it's an egg, not a bomb, hold it like this," instructed Sonic, adjusting Blaze's arms to better hold the egg. "There! Way better!"

He let go of her but Blaze hardly felt reassured when he did. She let herself sit upon the nearby sofa in the hut. Well, to call it a sofa would be an overstatement when all it were was old empty crates with sheets thrown over them. Blaze continued to cradle the egg in her arms, calling upon her flames to lightly lick warmth to the unborn being inside. Her palms traveled along the surface of the egg, trying her best to leave not one part untouched.

Sonic took a seat beside her, watching Blaze tend to the egg like a diligent mother. It was going to be a long night, she could already tell.

Blaze, concerned her flames may be too harsh on the egg, turned to face Sonic. Parts of the shell felt too hot now. "If I use my flames too much I could possibly bake the chao inside, but if we huddle together..."

She was embarrassed that she could feel her ears burning at the tips and she knew it wasn't her pyrokinesis triggering. Sonic took it all in stride, not seeming too bothered by the request if it meant the egg would possibly be saved.

"Alright, hand the kid over," Sonic replied, turning to face the feline. Blaze passed the gray egg into his awaiting arms before shuffling herself against him so the large egg was sandwiched between them. The only way to sit comfortably against one another was to lay their arms around each other. Blaze was surprised she had the sudden urge to ran a palm through his quills but with her careful control upon her whims, she didn't.

There was awkward silence as they looked at one another. Her dimensional counterpart gave her a grin. Sonic felt the egg for any tremors before looping his arm back around Blaze. "So when it hatches who gets custody?"

Blaze blinked slowly, unsure.

oo~~~~oo

Eventually, Tails returned with the supplies he needed to put together an incubator for the egg. Marine having caught the two huddled together had opened her mouth to make a big deal of it, as if a 'told you so' was in order. Her eyes alone silenced the usually so rowdy raccoon, instead she smirked in a ever so annoying way. The power supply was handled by a crank, so the four friends had to take shifts making sure it wouldn't shut off. Blaze guessed the Chaos emerald search would be on hold for now until the egg hatched.

The youngsters of the group were the most interested in the egg, Blaze could see Tails and Marine crowding in to watch for any signs of life stirring. Marine needed a firm nudging from herself to finally get to bed once night came around. Tails was just as stubborn before Sonic promised they would wake them if anything happened with the egg. As smart as they were, children still needed a good night's sleep to grow up healthy and strong!

"Well... if you promise... I guess I can go to sleep," the kitsune said, muffling a yawn as he went to go join Marine on the sleeping mats in the other room of the hut. "Nighty night Sonic."

Sonic chuckled, turning to go join Blaze on egg sitting duty. "You'd think it's Christmas with how determined they are to stay awake."

"I suppose new life is exciting even for the young," Blaze remarked

"Yeah, its pretty cool isn't it?" He hummed, sitting down next to Blaze. The room was very dark, only the orange light from the incubator provided any sort of clear vision. Even then, it was a small one. Just enough to warm the contours of Sonic's face in all the right ways. She knew she was staring but she didn't care. She would soon be losing him again, for now, she would enjoy his company. Sonic, feeling her eyes upon him, turned to look at her.

The feline angled her face away, pretending that she hadn't been caught. She swallowed thickly, her heart had fluttered like a bird. When his eyes lingered, she dared to look back towards him. He grinned at her, golden light dancing in his eyes. It really brought her back to the time of their very first farewell, when he blazed more golden than the sun itself.

_"This is from me..."_

_"..."_

_"I'll see you, again!"_

_"Yes, again..."_

She didn't know when she started to look at her friend differently but gradually it seemed to happen. Perhaps that was the source of her annoyance at him and Marine that morning, disguising her fear of loss with a need to hurry his haste back home. The longer he stayed, the more attached she became and she wondered if she would even be able to handle letting him go when the time came. The thought was killing her, the first goodbye had been hard enough, even then, she never thought they were ever to cross paths again.

Sonic nudged her with his elbow, drawing her from her thoughts.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

Sonic playfully copied the face she presumably made, scrunching his brows tight and setting his mouth into a frown, eyes lowered down. Of course, his rendition was way more dramatic.

Blaze looked at him, causing the hedgehog to point at her in a dramatic fashion. "That! That right there!"

She pinned her ears back, scoffing, "Its my usual face."

"Nah, you smile more." He leaned against her shoulder, Blaze eventually letting her own weight press against him. He poked her nose with his finger, causing the cat to try and smother a smirk at his boyish nature. "There, way better."

"You are much too silly, hedgehog," Blaze said, trying to sound stern but failing.

Sonic chuckled, rubbing his nose. "Yeah but so are you, 'cause I guess in a way you are me, eh?"

"Do not bring that into this, my brain is boggled enough!"

He let the topic die, the two friends grinning at one another. They turned their eyes back to the egg. The silence was once again broken as Sonic spoke up. "But seriously, who's taking custody of this kid?"

"I suppose I shall... though, protecting a young creature and Sol emeralds probably aren't the same thing."

oo~~~~oo

Sometime in the night Blaze realized she must have dozed off, finding her eyes weakly fluttering open to see the incubator was still powered. The sky outside the window was still dark but the chirping of song birds made her think it had to be closing in onto dawn. Sonic was fast asleep next to her, though he was sitting up. Blaze found herself slouched into the curve of his arm and stomach, meaning she'd used him as a pillow. She stood up to stretch, careful not to bother her slumbering friend as she dislodged his other arm that had been around her.

In the lowlight she took a glance at the egg, suddenly startled to see what seemed like a crack running along its surface. Blaze delicately opened the lid of the incubator, reaching inside to pull the egg out from it. She pressed her ear against its warm shell, feeling feather light movement dwelling from inside. She sat back down next to Sonic, feeling her nerves bundle tightly together as she cradle the egg. Blaze nudged the hedgehog awake with her foot against his, whispering harshly into his ear.

"Sonic! Sonic, wake up! The egg is hatching!" Blaze watched Sonic jump to his feet, surprise etched into his face and body language.

"Already?"

Blaze nodded, presenting Sonic with the first signs of newborn life struggling to break free. Sonic went to go grab a towel from a nearby shelf, Blaze took to gently rocking the egg in her arms. When the hedgehog returned, part of the shell was already beginning to shed. Blaze inquired if he should go wake Marine and Tails who wanted to know when the chao would arrive. Sonic shook his head.

"It might stress the kid out having so many of us crowding it," Sonic said. "Best we let the dynamic duo sleep. Sides, chao hatchings can take several hours."

"You know about this stuff?"

"Oh, I've raised my fair share of chao here and there," he told her, nodding. "I know what to do."

They waited with baited breath, Sonic instructing Blaze how to help the newborn creature out. She was surprised at how complicated a process it was, as she turn the egg occasionally and gently rub her palms against the shell. Eventually, the miracle began to happen. First there was a little fist that broke its way passed the hard shell layer. Sonic tentatively peeled parts of the shell, soon revealing a pair of feet that popped right out. Blaze stared with wide eyes. Soon there was the head. Its eyes blearily took in the two animals above it. Sonic lifted the little creature from the remaining shell casing, using the towel to clean the chao of the remnant of yolk.

"There, now that's a cute little face," he cooed, pulling the dirty towel away. Sonic glanced up towards Blaze, feeling her look on in awe. "You wanna hold him?"

"I... I don't know... he's so small," Blaze murmured unsurely. "Surely I could break him..."

Blaze hesitantly reached her arms out regardless, seeming to run on some sort of auto pilot. He put the little gray chao in her arms, showing her the proper way of holding it. "Support his head... there we go," Sonic praised, drawing away slowly once Blaze seemed able enough to hold it without shaking.

She smiled down at the cooing little creature, absently touching its face with her finger. "Hi there..." She looked up towards Sonic and in that moment, she knew her feelings were going to be forever, especially if he kept smiling at her like that...


End file.
